I  (j  Al 


.  ^wwmww*^ 


.St©*"******' 


I  rrl  fcL   h  R.  LI  Jn  O  i  O  iN 


TOPS 

A  NEW  AMERICAN  INDUSTRY 

9 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2011  with  funding  from 

Boston  Library  Consortium  Member  Libraries 


http://www.archive.org/details/topsnewamericani1898arli 


«TOPS* 


A  New 

American 

Industry 


A  Study 

In  the  Development  of  the 

American  Worsted 

Manufacture 

THE   ARLINGTON   MILLS 

-  LAWRENCE 
MASSACHUSETTS 


IV/NS   ^ 


CAMBRIDGE 

$rinfe&  at  tyt  (gibmfot  (Jfress 


I 


COPYRIGHT,    1898 
BY  ARLINGTON    MILLS 


0  CT  2  7  1986  B0ST0N  C0I-LEGE  UPB^i 

CHESTNUT  HILL,  MA    02167 


ARLINGTON    MILLS, 

LAWRENCE,  MASSACHUSETTS. 

A- 

President, 
GEORGE  A.  NICKERSON. 

Treasurer, 
WILLIAM  WHITMAN. 

Assistant  Treasurer, 
FRANKLIN  W.  HOBBS. 

Clerk, 
WILLIAM  P.  ELLISON. 

Directors, 
GEORGE  A.  NICKERSON. 
WILLIAM   A.  RUSSELL.     CHARLES  C.  BURR. 
FRANK  E.  SIMPSON.         WILLIAM  WHITMAN. 

Resident  Agent, 
ROBERT  REDFORD. 

Superintendent  of  Worsted  Mills, 
WILLIAM  D.  HARTSHORNE. 

Superintendent  of  Cotton  Mills, 
GEORGE  W.  TOWNE. 

Selling  Agents, 
HARDING    WHITMAN  &  CO. 

+ 

Treasurer's  Office       .     .    No.  78  Chauncy  St.,  Boston. 
New  York  Salesrooms      .     Nos.  80  and  82  Leonard  St. 

Boston  Salesrooms No.  78  Chauncy  St. 

Philadelphia  Salesrooms     ......    The  Bocrse. 


HE  Arlington  Woolen  Mills  were  organized 
under  the  General  Statutes  of  the  State  of 


J  Massachusetts. 

The  certificate  of  organization  was  filed  with  the 

Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth,  February  20,  1865. 

The  corporate  name  was   changed  to  "  Arlington 

Mills  "  by  a  special  Act  of  the  Legislature  of  1875, 

Chap.  1.     Approved  January  25,  1875. 

The  Capital  Stock  was  increased  under  the  Gen- 
eral Statutes, 

December  3,  1877,  to  $500,000. 
June  1,  1880,  to  $750,000. 
September  4,  1882,  to  $1,000,000. 
It  was  increased  by  Special  Acts  of  the  Legislature 
Of  1887,  Chap.  7  ;    approved  February  8,  1887, 
to  $1,500,000. 

Of  1890,  Chap.  19 ;   approved  February  12,  1890, 
to  $2,000,000. 

Of  1896,  Chap.  151 ;  approved  March  19,  1896. 
to  $2,500,000. 


BY  WAY  OF  PREFACE 

OST  people  have  not  the  slightest  idea  preface 
what  a  "  top  "  is,  and  some  explanation 
to  the  uninitiated  is  a  necessary  pre- 
face to  a  book  which  is  all  about  worsted  tops. 
The  word  itself  is  a  good  old  Anglo-Saxon  word, 
signifying  a  tuft  or  ball  at  the  point  or  top 
of  anything,  and  so  specifically,  in  the  worsted 
manufacture,  a  bunch  or  bundle  of  long-stapled 
combed  wool,  or  "  sliver,"  ready  for  the  spinner. 
The  definition  given  by  McLaren  is  "  a  ball  of 
combed  wool  from  which  the  noil  has  been  sepa- 
rated." It  is  claimed  that  the  child's  toy,  a  top, 
although  deriving  its  name  from  the   German 


preface  word  topf,  is  a  kindred  word  ;  for  if  we  were  to 
attempt  a  picture  of  the  worsted  top  as  origi- 
nally made  by  the  hand  comber,  we  could  hardly 
do  better  than  to  say  that  it  resembled  in  ap- 
pearance the  boy's  top,  in  its  pear-shaped  or 
conoid  form.  Just  what  it  looks  like,  in  these 
days  of  machine-made  tops,  can  be  judged  from 
the  illustration  above,  which  is  sketched  from  a 
drawing  of  a  top,  as  balled  for  sale,  containing 
about  one  hundred  and  eighty  yards  of  worsted 
sliver,  and  weighing  about  seven  pounds. 

It  is  not  so  easy  to  trace  the  origin  of  the 
word  "noil,"  used  to  describe  the  short  fibres 
rejected  by  the  combing  machine  in  making  the 
top.  The  early  English  form  of  the  word  was 
noyl  or  noyle  ;  and  the  Century  Dictionary  as- 
signs its  origin  to  the  Old  French  noiel,  noyel, 
noel,  nouyau,  signifying  a  button  or  buckle ; 
Vickerman,  in  his  lecture  on  "  The  Woolen 
Thread,"  says  that  the  word  comes  from  the 
Latin  nodus,  a  knot,  and  that  it  means  "knotty," 
or  "  not  do."  This  is  more  ingenious  than  con- 
vincing. The  most  natural  explanation  of  the 
existence  of  the  word,  in  this  particular  applica- 
tion of  it,  is  to  say  that  like  "  Topsy  "  it  just 
"  growed,"  and  was  applied  to  the  rejected  wool 
fibres  without  any  reference  to  etymological 
niceties,  by  the  plain  people  who  made  their 
living,  centuries  ago,  in  the  good  old-fashioned 


use  of  hand  combs  and  furnace,  preparing  wool  preface 
for  the  worsted  spinners  of  Merry  England  in 
the  days  of  King  Edward,  when  the  town  of 
Norwich  first  came  into  international  notoriety 
as  the  seat  of  the  worsted  manufacture.  To  a 
larger  extent  than  any  other  industry,  the  wool 
manufacture  has  invented  its  own  language.  It 
is  full  of  technical  words,  evolved  out  of  the 
homely  picturesqueness  of  practical  facts,  largely 
of  English  dialectic  origin,  and  seeming  to  ex- 
actly typify  in  sound  the  things  for  which  they 
stand.  They  offer  a  rich  field  of  investigation 
for  the  trained  philologist.  As  this  publication 
is  not  a  work  on  etymology,  we  will  not  pur- 
sue this  interesting  topic  farther,  but  proceed 
at  once  to  the  more  pi*actical  question  of  the 
relation  which  the  top  is  to  bear  to  the  future 
development  of  the  American  wool  manufac- 
ture. 


CONTENTS 

Page 
I.  The    Genesis    of    the    American  Worsted 

Manufacture 1 

II.   Thk  Specialization  of  the  Worsted  Indus- 
try        13 

III.  Description  of  the  New  Top  Mill      ...  31 

IV.  The  Solvent  Process  for  Cleansing  Wool  40 
V.  The  Hygroscopic  Property  of  Wool      .     .  57 

VI.    How  Tops  will  be  Sold 77 

VII.   The  Mechanical  Advance  of  the  Worsted 

Manufacture 87 

VIII.  Summary 106 

Appendix  A.   The  Products  of  the  Arlington  Mills  115 
Appendix  B.   Columbus  Sighting  America:    Jac- 

quard  Design 121 

Appendix  C.   The  First  Carding  Engine  built  in 

America 126 

Appendix  D.   Facts    about   the   Property  of    the 

Arlington  Mills  .......  130 

Index 133 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 
A  Flock  of  Sheep,  Franklin  Park,  Boston,  Mass. 

Frontispiece 

Arlington  Mills,  Worsted  Department  .    Facing  14 

A  Vermont  Merino  Ram    . 20 

Ground  Plan  of  the  Arlington  Mills  Property, 

Lawrence,  Mass 31 

The  New  Top  Mill 36 

The  Angora  Goat    (from   which  Mohair  is  ob- 
tained), Asia  Minor  and  South  Africa      ...  46 

Arlington  Mills,  Cotton  Department 56 

Diagram  1,  Average  curve  of  change 66 

Diagram  2,  Curve  for  August  1 68 

Diagram  3,  Curve  between  October  31  and  November  1,  70 

Diagram  4,  Temperature,  humidity,  and  weight  curves  72 

The  Alpaca,  Peru 78 

A  Modern  Combing  Machine 88 

"  Columbus     Sighting     America,"    designed    and 

woven  at  the  Arlington  Mills 122 

The  First  American  Carding  Machine     ....  124 

Modern  Worsted  Carding  Engine 126 


Hand  Combing 
(From  a  Fourteenth  Century  MS.  in  British  Museum) 


CHAPTER   I 


THE    GENESIS    OP   THE   AMERICAN   WORSTED 
MANUFACTURE 

HIS  book  will  describe  the  introduction  Purpose  of  this 
of  a  new  branch  of  industry  into  the 
United  States,  or  rather,  of  a  new  phase 
of  the  worsted  manufacture,  —  the  making  of 
worsted  tops,  of  every  variety,  for  sale  to  the 
spinners  of  worsted  yarn.  It  will  describe 
the  buildings  that  have  been  constructed  for 
the  manufacture,  and  some  of  the  novelties  of 
method  applied.  It  will  enumerate  the  advan- 
tages to  the  manufacturer  and  to  the  country 
which  seem  to  be  inevitable  from  the  establish- 
1 


TURE 


C10US 


genesis  ment  of  this  new  branch  of  industry,  and  inci- 

american       dentally  it  will  give  information,  some  of  it  old, 

WORSTED  »    .      '  ,  • 

manufac-  some  of  it  new,  about  the  history  and  develop- 
ment of  the  worsted  manufacture  in  the  United 
States  and  elsewhere ;  and  in  other  ways  will 
seek  to  interest  as  well  as  to  instruct  such  read- 
ers as  want  to  know  what  that  industry  is,  what 
obstacles  it  has  overcome,  and  what  future  awaits 
it  in  this  country. 

The  time  auspi-  The  enterprise  described  in  these  pages  is  the 
result  of  plans  which  have  been  carefully  ma- 
turing for  years,  the  actual  execution  of  which 
has  been  delayed  in  patient  waiting  for  the 
opportune  moment.  That  moment  seems  at  last 
to  have  arrived  ;  the  United  States,  biggest  and 
best  of  all  the  countries  in  the  world,  after  a 
prolonged  struggle  with  adverse  conditions, 
which  have  tested  the^grit  of  her  business  men 
and  proved  the  soundness  of  her  business  basis, 
is  upon  the  eve  of  a  great  step  forward,  of  a 
new  industrial  development,  the  character  and 
extent  of  which  will  leave  far  in  the  rear  all  the 
past  achievements  of  the  nation.  Our  popula- 
tion has  been  steadily  growing  at  the  average 
rate  of  about  1,500,000  a  year ;  by  the  time  the 
census  of  1900  is  taken,  it  will  have  reached 
75,000,000,  representing  a  greater  consuming 
power  than  any  equal  population  anywhere  in 
the  world.  To  keep  up  with  the  requirements 
2 


of  such  a  population,  the  worsted  manufacture  genesis 

OF  THE 

must  adopt  and  adapt  some  changes  of  method,  American 
1        .         .     L  °  WORSTED 

needed  to  bring;  it  more  nearly  abreast  of  the  manufac- 

°  J  TURE 

industry  in  the  countries  where  it  has  reached 

its   highest   development.     This   book   aims  to 

show  that  these  changes  are  necessary,  that  they 

are  already  under  way,  and  that  they  are  about 

to  be  enormously  expedited  and  facilitated. 

To  measure  intelligently  the  relation  which 

this  new  industry  hopes  to  sustain  to  the  general 

industry  of  wool  manufacturing  in  this  country, 

it  is  necessary  to  take  a  preliminary  glance  at 

the  history  of  the  worsted  manufacture  in  the 

United  States.     We  shall  go  over  the  ground 

as  briefly  as  possible,  and  dwell  only  lightly  on 

facts  which  are  familiar  to  those  who  handle 

wool  in  any  of  its  forms. 

The  manufacture  of  wool  by  the  factory  sys-  An  infant  indus- 
try 
tern  is  only  a  hundred  years  old  in  the  United 

States,  nor  very  much  older  in  any  other  coun- 
try. Measured  by  the  ordinary  standards,  it  is 
still  an  "  infant  industry  "  among  us,  insomuch 
as  it  is  still  passing  through  a  series  of  changes 
somewhat  comparable  to  those  which  occur  in 
the  human  frame  as  it  emerges  from  childhood 
into  maturity.  To  carry  the  similitude  a  step 
farther,  the  domestic  wool  manufacture  may  be 
said  to  be  standing  to-day  on  the  threshold  of 
its  manhood,  at  the  point  at  which  the  youth, 
3 


genesis  putting    aside    youthful    things,    takes    on    the 

American       duties  of  life   and  starts  to  make  his  place  in 

WORSTED  -  * 

manufac-  the  world.  His  success  in  life  depends  upon 
the  manner  in  which  his  faculties  and  muscles 
have  been  trained  and  his  aptitudes  developed. 
These  are  his  tools  ;  and  if  they  are  dull  or 
defective,  he  won't  make  much  of  a  fist  of  it. 
It  is  very  much  the  same  with  an  industry ; 
beyond  a  certain  stage,  its  progress  and  devel- 
opment depend  upon  the  facilities  it  commands 
for  further  advance.  The  American  wool  manu- 
facture has  been  lacking  thus  far  in  some  of  the 
chief  facilities  for  a  rapid  and  healthy  progress 
along  the  line  of  worsted  goods ;  until  that  lack 
is  supplied,  its  progress  is  retarded  like  that  of 
the  defectively  educated  man.  The  new  enter- 
prise described  in  this  volume  will  inaugurate 
a  movement  to  supply  certain  facilities  for  the 
worsted  manufacture  that  have  been  altogether 
absent  in  the  past. 

The  first  worsted  The  worsted  industry  is  very  much  younger 
here  than  the  woolen  manufacture,  and  very 
much  farther  behind  the  development  it  has 
reached  in  foreign  countries.  Indeed,  we  had  no 
worsted  manufacture  in  the  United  States  until 
about  1842 ;  and  as  late  as  1860  it  was  practi- 
cally confined,  outside  the  manufacture  of  carpet 
yarns,  to  three  large  New  England  mills,  —  the 
Pacific,  the  Hamilton  Woolen,  and  the  Man- 
4 


Chester,  which  had  been  organized  to  carry  on  genesis 

f  ,  •'of  the 

the  manufacture  of  mousseline  delaines.     These  American 

worsted 

mills  had  their  origin  before  the  machinery  for  ™t1A^PAC_ 
combing  wool  was  perfected  ;  but  they  gradually 
introduced  these  machines,  and  before  the  close 
of  the  civil  war  there  were  a  number  of  them  in 
operation  in  the  country. 

There  seems  to  have  been  an  impression 
among  those  who  framed  our  earlier  tariff  laws, 
that  while  the  woolen  manufacture  was  an  in- 
dustry of  great  promise,  and  worthy  of  every 
fostering  care,  the  worsted  manufacture  was  an 
exotic,  —  a  branch  of  industry  beyond  attain- 
ment, and  therefore  unworthy  of  attention. 
Consequently,  whenever  a  new  tariff  was  made, 
worsted  goods  were  always  made  dutiable  at 
much  lower  rates  than  woolens,  apparently  on 
the  theory  that  they  were  bound  to  be  imported 
any  way,  and  should  therefore  be  burdened  only 
with  revenue  duties. 

There  exists  in  Washington  a  curious  docu-  A curious docu- 

°  merit 

ment  submitted  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
in  1854  by  the  British  minister- at  Washington, 
inclosing  a  memorial  from  the  Bradford  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce,  and  praying  for  a  reduction 
of  the  then  existing  ad  valorem  duty  of  25  per 
cent,  upon  worsted  goods  to  a  materially  lower 
rate,  on  the  ground  that  they  "  do  not  come  into 
competition  with  American  products,"  and  that 
5 


GENESIS 
OP   THE 
AMERICAN 
WORSTED 
MANUFAC- 
TURE 


Results  of  the 
civil  war 


a  material  increase  in  their  importation  would 
therefore  be  "a  benefit  to  every  class  and  every 
section."  The  prayer  of  these  canny  Yorkshire- 
men  was  addressed  to  friendly  ears ;  the  duty 
was  reduced  from  25  to  19  per  cent.,  by  the  act 
of  1857,  and  in  consequence  there  ensued  for 
the  next  few  years  a  mighty  increase  in  the  de- 
velopment of  Bradford.  Her  machinery  doubled 
in  capacity,  and  the  foundations  of  many  a 
princely  fortune  were  laid,  largely  through  the 
increase  in  American  business,  where  there  were 
no  American  mills  to  compete  for  the  domestic 
trade. 

But  the  civil  war  came  on ;  the  necessities  of 
the  government  compelled  higher  duties  all  along 
the  line ;  and  before  the  war  ended,  conditions 
had  arisen  under  which  the  making  of  many 
varieties  of  worsteds  was  possible  here.  When 
the  war  was  over,  our  people  rubbed  their  eyes 
and  awakened  to  the  fact  that  we  actually  had 
an  American  worsted  manufacture,  firmly  estab- 
lished, —  a  sturdy  child,  needing  only  the  same 
consideration  that  was  extended  to  other  indus- 
tries to  develop  into  healthy  and  vigorous  man- 
hood. When,  therefore,  Congress  came  to  the 
enactment  of  the  famous  tariff  of  1867,  it  recog- 
nized the  fact  that,  in  spite  of  itself  almost,  this 
great  industry  had  been  transplanted  into  our 
midst,  and  that  with  the  same  care  bestowed 
6 


upon   the  woolen  and    cotton  manufactures,  it  genesis 

1  OF  THE 

would  speedily  add  enormously  to  the  wealth  of  American 

1  J  J  worsted 

the  nation.  MT^FAC_ 

We  have  said  that  the  growth  of  the  worsted 
manufacture  has  been  very  rapid  in  the  United 
States  of  late  years ;  but  it  is  susceptible  of  de- 
monstration, by  a  comparison  of  the  statistics  of 
this  country  and  of  England,  that  it  is  very  far 
as  yet  from  having  reached  the  relative  impor- 
tance that  it  possesses  abroad,  and  is  destined 
to  acquire  in  the  United  States.  To  make  this 
clear,  we  must  beg  the  reader's  pardon  while  we 
intrude  a  few  statistics ;  they  are  dry  reading, 
but  they  have  their  uses  nevertheless.  This 
little  table  from  the  eleventh  federal  census 
shows  the  development  of  our  worsted  industry 
from  1860  to  1890  :  — 


STATISTICS  OF  WORSTED  MILLS,  IS60-1890. 


i» 

« 

S      A 

3       £ 

O   S 

a       >> 

&^ 

_■ 

ci  « 

P^S 

1 

11 

'S. 

S^w 

s* 

SS" 

o 

S 

< 

I860 

3 

$3,230,000 

- 

2,378 

1870 

102 

10,0S5,778 

- 

12,920 

1880 

76 

20,374,043 

- 

18,803 

isao 

143 

68,085,116 

$4,917,760 

43,593 

$543,684 
4,36S,S57 
5,683,027 
5,880,183 


°-i2 


$2,442,775 
14,308,198 
22,013,628 
50,706,769 


$3,701,378 
22,090,331 
33,549,942 
79,194,652 


We  see  from  this  table  that  during  the  de- 
cade 1880-1890,  the  number  of  worsted  mills 
just  about    doubled,   the    capital   employed   in- 


GENESIS 
OF  THE 
AMERICAN 
WORSTED 
MANUFAC- 
TURE 


English  statis- 
tics 


creased  more  than  three  times,  the  total  number 
of  employees  more  than  doubled,  and  the  value 
of  products  increased  136  per  cent.  In  the  same 
decade  the  value  of  the  products  of  the  woolen 
miUs  declined  from  8160,606,721  to  $133,577,- 
977,  showing  that  all  the  gain  of  the  decade  was 
in  the  worsted  mills,  and  that  the  development 
of  this  branch  was  going  on  at  the  expense  of 
the  other.  It  was  still  the  fact,  however,  that 
the  woolen  mills  far  outnumbered  the  worsted 
mills,  exceeded  them  in  machinery  capacity,  and 
turned  out  a  product  nearly  double  the  value  of 
the  products  of  the  worsted  mills. 

Comparing  this  situation  with  that  which 
exists  in  England,  we  shall  find  every  justifica- 
tion for  the  contention  that  our  worsted  industry 
is  still  far  behind  its  normal  development,  as 
compared  with  the  woolen  industry,  when  judged 
by  the  relative  statistical  status  of  the  two  in- 
dustries in  the  greatest  of  the  wool  manufactur- 
ing nations.  The  latest  returns  we  have  on -the 
subject  are  those  of  the  British  Board  of  Trade 
for  1889,  and  from  these  it  appears  that  the 
total  number  of  persons  employed  in  the  woolen 
and  worsted  industries  was  almost  exactly  the 
same  in  both  branches,  — 148,729  in  one  and 
148,324  in  the  other ;  while  in  the  woolen  mills 
there  were  3,407,002  spindles  as  compared  with 
3,072,250  worsted  spindles.  From  the  year  1870, 


when  these   English  figures  begin,  the  worsted  genesis 

&  ...  OF  THE 

manufacture  has  been  gaining  steadily  upon  the  American 

°  &  J       L  WORSTED 

woolen  manufacture ;  in  1889,  as  we  see,  they  manufac- 

'  '  J   TURE 

were  nearly  neck  and  neck.  When  the  next 
returns  appear,  we  have  no  doubt  they  will  show 
the  worsted  manufacture  considerably  in  the 
lead ;  for  the  tendency  towards  worsteds  has 
been  more  marked  in  the  past  five  years  than 
ever  before.  The  tastes  of  the  people  are  dis- 
tinctly turning  from  woolen  to  worsted  fabrics ; 
and  the  United  States  manufacturers  have  not 
yet  brought  the  worsted  branch  to  the  relative 
development  long  ago  reached  abroad.  The 
field  for  growth  is  correspondingly  large. 

We  must  not  be  understood  as  in  any  sense  The  woolen 

,.,  ,  ,,  t      •         manufacture 

decrying  the  woolen  manufacture,  or  predicting 
its  decay.  We  are  simply  depicting  an  indus- 
trial evolution  which,  by  reason  of  its  belated 
start  in  the  United  States,  is  now  bound  to  ad- 
vance with  the  greater  rapidity  here.  The  field 
of  the  woolen  mill  has  been  gradually  circum- 
scribed, but  it  is  still  large  enough  to  tax  the 
energies  of  increasing  numbers.  The  people 
will  never  stop  using  blankets ;  and,  while  the 
astonishing  development  of  the  knitted  under- 
wear manufacture  has  greatly  limited  the  use  of 
flannels  in  one  direction,  the  taste  and  ingenuity 
of  their  makers  have  largely  increased  their  use 
in  another  by  producing  flannel  dress  goods,  of 
9 


GENESIS 
OF   THE 
AMERICAN 
WORSTED 

MANUFAC- 
TURE 


The  Arlington 
Mills  begins  to 
make  worsted 


delicate  finish  and  beautiful  patterns,  which  must 
always  retain  their  popularity  for  ladies'  wear. 
Nevertheless,  there  are  possibilities  of  fabrica- 
tion in  worsted  goods,  particularly  in  the  use  of 
lustre  wools  and  mohairs,  and  in  Jacquard  ef- 
fects, which  are  beyond  attainment  in  woolens, 
and  which,  as  the  application  of  art  to  textiles 
extends,  are  destined  to  greatly  increase  the  use 
of  worsteds,  not  only  for  ladies'  wear,  but  for 
every  conceivable  decorative  purpose. 

It  may  thus  be  said  to  be  more  the  result  of 
accident  than  design  that  we  have  a  worsted 
manufacture  in  this  country,  and  we  count  it  a 
happy  coincidence  that  the  Arlington  Mills  came 
permanently  under  the  present  management  very 
shortly  after  the  passage  of  that  celebrated  tariff 
act  of  1867.  The  mills  had  hitherto  been  em- 
ployed upon  various  kinds  of  woolen  goods, 
including  felts,  and  had  not  been  particularly 
successful.  But  its  management  was  quick  to 
see  the  possibilities  opened  up  by  the  act  .of 
1867,  and  decided  to  abandon  woolen  goods  alto- 
gether. No  worsted  machinery  of  any  kind  was 
then  manufactured  in  this  country,  —  indeed, 
very  little  of  it  is  made  here  yet,  and  great  pos- 
sibilities await  the  men  with  the  courage  and 
the  capital  necessary  to  successfully  enter  this 
field  of  enterprise.  Combing,  preparing,  and 
spinning  machinery  were  therefore  imported 
10 


from  England,  enough  to  supply  the  yarns  for  genesis 

fc>  &  rr  j  j  0F  THE 

160  looms.  AMERICAN 

WORSTED 

Nothing  but  discouragement  rewarded  the  ^^FAC' 
earlier  years  of  the  enterprise.  In  England, 
France,  and  Belgium  the  worsted  manufacture 
had  by  this  time  been  brought  to  a  very  high 
degree  of  perfection,  and  worsted  dress  goods 
were  landed  here  at  prices  and  of  qualities  which 
were  the  wonder  and  the  despair  of  American 
pioneers.  Skilled  operatives  were  few ;  the 
whole  business  was  experimental;  and  money 
was  spent  much  faster  than  it  came  back.  In 
1869  it  was  found  that  the  Arlington  Company 
must  either  reorganize  or  suspend.  It  required 
a  good  deal  of  courage,  on  the  part  of  the  stock- 
holders, to  pay  into  the  treasury  the  full  amount 
of  the  capital  stock,  then  $240,000,  and  continue 
operations.  But  that  was  done,  and  the  venture 
was  justified  in  a  comparatively  short  time,  by 
the  popularity  of  the  lustre  fabrics,  mohairs, 
alpacas,  and  other  bright  goods,  which  was  at 
that  time  very  great,  and  to  the  manufacture  of 
which  the  Arlington  Mills  gradually  turned  all 
its  energies. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  in  this  volume  to  repeat 
the  history  and  description  of  the  Arlington 
Mills  contained  in  the  book  entitled  "  The  Ar- 
lington Mills :  A  Historical  and  Descriptive 
Sketch,"  published  in  1891.  The  account  here 
11 


GENESIS 
OF  THE 
AMERICAN 
WORSTED 
MANUFAC- 
TURE 


given  relates  only  to  new  buildings  erected  and 
new  processes  introduced  since  that  volume  was 
published ;  and  the  reader  desiring  further  in- 
formation in  regard  to  the  mill  and  its  products 
is  referred  to  the  book  in  question.  It  will  ap- 
pear, from  that  volume,  that  the  forward  step 
now  taken  in  the  development  of  the  enterprise 
is  the  logical  outcome  of  its  previous  growth. 


Hand  Spinning 
(From  a  Fourteenth  Century  MS.  in  British  Museum) 


CHAPTER   II 

THE   SPECIALIZATION   OF   THE   WORSTED 
INDUSTRY 

E  have  gone  thus  fully  into  the  history  An  evolution 
of  our  domestic  worsted  manufacture, 
because  it  is  important  to  a  full  under- 
standing1 of  the  revolution  in  methods  of  manu- 
facture  which  is  destined  ultimately  to  overtake 
this  industry  in  the  United  States.  It  is  still  an 
industry  in  the  chrysalis  state  ;  it  is  to  emerge 
from  that  state  into  the  full  and  final  form  of 
development,  not  suddenly  or  readily,  as  occurs 
to  the  chrysalis  in  nature,  but  slowly  and  pain- 
13 


specializa-    fully,  as   experience    shall   gradually  establish, 

TION  OF  THE  J  ,  '        °     .     .         J  ■ 

worsted        here  as  in  nature,  the   Darwinian  law  of  the 


INDUSTRY 


Origin  of  the 
American 
woolen  mill 


survival  of  the  fittest. 

There  could  not  well  be  a  greater  industrial 
contrast  than  that  presented  by  the  development 
of  the  worsted  manufacture  here,  and  that  which 
has  taken  place  in  Europe.  The  one  experience 
may  be  called  the  reverse  of  the  other,  and  it  is 
necessary  to  the  purposes  of  this  narrative  to 
show  how  and  why  this  is  so. 

Our  earliest  woolen  mills  were  evolutions  from 
the  carding  mill  and  fulling  mill  of  colonial 
days.  They  were  located  upon  some  stream, 
and  were  situated  at  long  distances  from  each 
other.  When  power  machinery  was  introduced, 
and  factory-made  cloth  began  to  supersede  the 
"  homespun  "  of  the  fireside  with  which  our 
ancestors  clothed  themselves,  the  pioneer  man- 
ufacturers found  it  necessary  to  perform  all 
the  processes  connected  with  the  making  of 
cloth.  They  must  not  only  spin  their .  own 
yarns,  but  they  must  dye  and  finish  their  own 
cloths,  there  being  nobody  in  the  neighborhood 
who  could  do  any  of  these  things  for  them. 
Every  woolen  mill  was  compelled  to  be  a  com- 
plete entity  in  itself;  and  thus  by  sheer  force 
of  circumstances,  our  method  of  manufacturing 
developed  and  continued  along  its  own  individ- 
ual lines.  It  is  only  within  a  comparatively 
14 


few  years  that  the  inertia   of    inherited  habit  specializa- 

J  m  TION   OF  THE 

has  begun  to  give  way,  here  and  there,  before  J^fsxRY 
the  superior  advantages  of  a  subdivision  of  the 
industry  into  its  several  specialties.  This 
modern  tendency  to  specialization  is  quite  as 
marked  in  the  other  great  industries,  like  cot- 
ton and  iron  and  steel,  as  in  the  worsted  manu- 
facture. We  have  recently  seen  it  carried  to  its 
logical  development  in  the  manufacture  of  bicy- 
cles, the  several  parts  of  which  are  now  made, 
as  a  rule,  in  separate  and  independent  estab- 
lishments., 

This  tendency  to  specialization,  so  com  para-  origin  of  the  in- 

.  .  dustry  in  Eng- 

tively  new  in  the  United  fetates,  was  its  earliest  land 
characteristic  in  England.  The  minute  subdi- 
vision of  the  industry  in  Great  Britain  is  an 
evolution  of  centuries,  and  a  survival  of  the 
days  of  hand  manufacture,  under  which,  just  as 
at  present,  the  spinner,  the  weaver,  the  dyer, 
and  the  fuller  had  each  his  distinct,  well-defined 
field  of  work,  into  which  the  rules  of  the  guilds 
forbade  either  of  the  others  to  encroach.  It 
was  a  subdivision  unaccompanied  by  any  in- 
convenience, because  of  the  close  concentration 
of  the  cloth  manufacture  in  particular  localities. 
There  were  certain  towns  where  practically  the 
only  occupation  of  the  people  was  some  one  of 
those  connected  with  the  cloth  manufacture. 
As  machine  manufacture  gradually  drove  out 
15 


Top  making  in 
England 


specializa-    the  hand  worker,  this  differentiation  continued 

TION  OF  THE 

worsted        along;  lines  established  by  immemorial  custom, 

INDUSTRY  &  t    i 

and  there  are  but  slight  departures  from  it  in 
England  to-day,  because  experience  leads  men  to 
believe  that  on  the  whole  it  is  the  most  efficient 
and  economical  system  of  manufacturing. 

The  extent  to  which  this  specialization  of  the 
worsted  manufacture  is  carried  abroad  may  not 
be  fully  realized  by  those  Americans  who  are 
not  in  the  habit  of  making  frequent  trips  across 
the  water.  It  will  facilitate  the  purpose  of  this 
narrative  to  indicate  its  character  and  its  advan- 
tages somewhat  in  detail. 

The  manufacture  of  tops  is  its  starting-point. 
Comparatively  few  of  the  English  and  conti- 
nental spinners  and  weavers  make  their  own 
tops.  While  this  separate  top  manufacture  is 
a  survival  of  the  old  days  of  hand  combing  and 
domestic  industry,  yet  the  reason  why  it  has 
survived  is  because  experience  has  abundantly 
proved  that  it  is  the  most  satisfactory  and  eco- 
nomical method  of  manufacturing.  Hence  it 
happens  that  the  enormous  quantity  of  wool 
which  is  annually  woven  into  worsted  goods  in 
England  passes  originally  through  a  compara- 
tively small  number  of  combing  establishments. 
There  are  in  Yorkshire,  all  told,  according  to 
Morrell's  Textile  Directory,  only  about  sixty 
combing  establishments,  which  comb  wool  for 
16 


hundreds    of   manufacturers.     A  few   of    these  specializa- 

.  TION  OF  THE 

establishments  are  of    enormous  size ;  the  firm  worsted 

'  INDUSTRY 

of  Isaac  Holden  &  Sons  owns  two  complete 
combing  plants  in  Bradford  and  two  others  of  The  Hoiden 

.  .  t->  i      •  i  commng  mills 

equal  size  on  the  continent,  one  at  Rheims  and 
one  at  Croix,  near  Roubaix,  in  France.  It  is 
stated  in  the  Report  of  the  Royal  British 
Commission  on  Technical  Education  (Second 
Report,  vol.  1,  page  259)  that  two  fifths  of  all 
the  colonial  wool  annually  sold  at  the  London 
auctions  passes  through  the  combing  machines 
operated  by  this  firm.  The  statement  seems 
incredible  when  we  consider  how  enormous  is 
the  volume  of  this  wool.  In  questioning  it,  we 
do  not  wish  to  seem  to  detract  from  the  prestige 
of  this  great  firm.  Of  that  there  can  be  no 
question.  Sir  Isaac  Holden,  M.  P.,  the  recent 
head  of  the  firm,  was  the  inventor  of  the  comb- 
ing machine  which  bears  his  name,  and  which, 
in  conjunction  with  the  Heilman,  Lister,  and 
Noble  machines,  has  done  more  than  any  other  Results  of  the 

combing  ma- 
in vention  to  promote  the  wool  manufacture  and  cnine  invention 

develop  the  wool-growing  resources  of  the  south- 
ern hemisphere.1  It  is  an  impressive  thought 
that,  but  for  the  invention  of  the  comb,  the 
enormous   increase  in  the  world's  wool  supply 

1  The  increase  in  the  wool  clip  of  Australasia,  South 
America,  and  the  Cape  Colonies  has  heen  from  154,000,000 
pounds  in  1860  to  1,100,000,000  pounds  in  1896,  an  increase 
of  over  600  per  cent. 

17 


SPECIALIZA- 
TION  OF  THE 
WORSTED 
INDUSTRY 


The  Antwerp 
top  market 


which  marks  the  last  forty  years  could  not  have 
taken  place. 

The  reason  why  the  Bradford  manufacturers 
send  their  wool  to  the  Holdens  and  others  to  be 
combed  is  because  they  can  get  the  work  done 
better  and  cheaper  than  they  can  do  it  them- 
selves. That  holds  to  reason  ;  if  it  were  not  the 
fact,  these  shrewd  Yorkshiremen  would  have 
found  it  out  long  ago,  and  would  now  be  making 
their  own  tops.  If  it  were  not  the  fact,  the 
rapid  development  of  the  Antwerp  top  market 
would  have  been  an  impossibility. 

This  top  market,  like  that  at  Roubaix  in 
France,  is  a  peculiar  outcome  of  peculiar  con- 
ditions, and  has  much  disturbed  the  staid  Eng- 
lishmen, with  their  conservative  methods  of 
doing  business.  The  Bradford  "  Observer  "  de- 
scribes these  terminal  top  markets  at  Antwerp 
and  Roubaix  as  "  gigantic  gambling  estab- 
lishments, which  have  become  the  Monte  Carlo 
and  Monaco  of  the  top  trade."  The  origin  of 
these  top  markets  is  attributed  to  the  early  at- 
tention which  the  Belgians  and  the  French  gave 
to  the  burry  and  ill-conditioned  wools  of  South 
America.  They  devoted  special  attention  both 
to  machinery  for  removing  the  burr,  and  to 
chemical  methods  of  treating  it.  In  the  earlier 
days  of  the  sheep  industry  of  Argentina,  the 
wools  of  that  country  were  shunned  by  English 
18 


manufacturers  on  account  of  their  burry  condi-  specializa- 

J  TION  OF  THE 

tion,  and,  finding-  their  way  across  the  channel,  worsted 

'  '  °  J  '  INDUSTRY 

were  sold  at  auction  for  what  they  would  bring, 
—  almost  given  away,  in  comparison  with  the 
prices  paid  for  Australian  wools.  The  Belgians 
experimented  with  these  defective  wools,  and, 
hitting  upon  various  expedients  for  getting  rid 
of  the  burr,  they  were  enabled  to  make  yarns 
very  much  cheaper  for  the  quality  than  any 
offered  by  English  or  Scotch  spinners.  This 
yarn  found  its  way  to  England  and  elsewhere, 
and  none  made  from  other  wools  could  compete 
with  it  in  price.  English,  French,  and  Ger- 
man spinners  were  driven  to  seek  the  tops  from 
which  it  was  made  ;  an  enormous  business  grew 
up  ;  and  as  these  "  B.  A."  tops  were  practically 
all  of  one  quality,  prepared  to  spin  to  a  single 
number,  and  as  they  were  offered  in  constantly 
increasing  quantities,  the  development  and  ad- 
vance of  the  terminal  top  markets  were  so  rapid 
as  almost  to  approach  a  phenomenon.  It  was 
contended, in  their  favor,  that  in  the  presence  of  "Futures "in 
vastly  accelerated  means  of  communication  and 
transport,  the  operator  should  have  correspond- 
ingly increased  facilities  for  turning  over  his 
ventures  ;  and  that  it  would  be  a  great  advantage 
to  the  spinner,  weaver,  etc.,  to  be  able  to  cover, 
by  dealings  in  "  futures,"  losses  which  might 
arise  from  subsequent  fluctuations  of  the  market. 
19 


SPECIALIZA- 
TION OF  THE 
WORSTED 
INDUSTRY 


Uniformity 


How  the  new 
enterprise  origi- 
nated 


The  result  has  been  very  like  that  which  occurs 
from  the  sale  of  "  futures  "  in  cotton,  corn,  and 
wheat.  The  circular  of  Buxton  &  Ronald 
for  1896  states  that  from  November,  1894,  to 
October  31,  1895,  the  transactions  in  River 
Plate  tops  of  the  recognized  standard  type  at 
Antwerp  and  Roubaix  were  twelve  times  greater 
than  the  quantity  actually  produced  during  the 
same  period. 

The  development  of  the  Antwerp  top  market 
is  a  recognition  of  the  fact  that  the  top  is  the 
earliest  stage  at  which  wool  can  be  traded  in,  as 
corn  or  cotton  are  traded  in,  with  any  certainty 
of  uniformity  in  the  article.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  the  Antwerp  tops  necessarily  vary  materi- 
ally in  quality  ;  for  all  combers  are  not  equally 
careful,  either  in  their  processes  of  manufacture 
or  in  the  purchase  and  sorting  of  their  stock. 
The  manufacturer  who  resorts  to  Antwerp  for 
tops  necessarily  enters  a  lottery,  a  risk  which 
will  be  wholly  escaped  by  the  American  manu- 
facturer who  buys  the  Arlington  Mills  tops,  for 
reasons  that  we  shall  presently  see. 

The  management  of  the  Arlington  Mills  was 
first  brought  to  the  investigation  of  the  foreign 
methods  of  specialization  in  the  summer  of  1894, 
when  legislation  was  pending  to  remove  the  duty 
upon  foreign  wool,  and  otherwise  so  to  change 
the  status  of  the  manufacture  as  to  amount  to 
20 


A   VERMONT   MERINO   RAM 


an  economic  revolution.     It  appeared  necessary  specializa- 

11  ->   TION  OP  THE 

to  prepare  to  adapt  American  methods  to  new  worsted 

r      *  r  _  INDUSTRY 

conditions  ;  and  the  treasurer  of  the  Arlington 
Mills  visited  Europe  during  the  summer  in 
question  and  acquired  all  the  information  possi- 
ble upon  the  system  of  manufacturing  there  pre- 
vailing. He  became  convinced  that  to  secure 
the  best  possible  results  in  this  country,  radi- 
cal changes  were  necessary,  beginning  at  the 
very  foundation.  It  was  made  clear  to  him  that 
the  most  successful  combed  wool  manufacturers 
abroad  depended  primarily  upon  the  cheapness 
and  perfection  with  which  their  wool  tops  were 
produced  ;  and  also  that  this  cheapness  and  per- 
fection combined  were*  only  possible  when  the 
manufacture  was  specialized  on  a  large  scale. 
For  such  a  specialization,  it  was  evident  that 
certain  things  were  imperative  :  — 

First.       Knowledge  Of    the  WOols    of    the  WOrld  Requirements 

°  for  success 

and  how  to  mix  or  assemble  them. 

Second.  Facilities  for  purchasing  such  wools 
at  minimum  cost  in  the  chief  countries  of  pro- 
duction or  sale.  * 

Third.  Buildings  especially  adapted,  both  as 
to  arrangement  and  mechanical  appliances,  for 
the  economical  handling  and  distribution  of  wool 
in  bulk. 

Fourth.  The  very  best  machinery,  especially 
adapted  to  the  various  kinds  of  wool  to  be 
21 


SPECIALIZA- 
TION OF  THE 
WORSTED 
INDUSTRY 


The  market 

tested 


worked,  so  as  to  secure  a  maximum  of  produc- 
tion at  a  minimum  of  expenditure  for  labor  and 
loss  from  waste. 

Fifth.     A  home  market  for  wool  tops. 

Four  of  these  five  requirements  were  attain- 
able, the  doubtful  one  being  the  fifth;  was  it 
possible  to  secure  a  home  market  for  tops  ? 
Did  it  involve  too  radical  a  change  in  our 
American  methods  of  manufacture,  to  promise 
a  success  quick  enough  and  large  enough  to 
warrant  the  establishment  of  an  enterprise  for 
top  making  on  a  large  scale  ? 

The  way  to  test  the  question  was  to  begin  the 
business  with  such  machinery  as  the  mills  already 
possessed.  Prior  to  this  time,  certain  portions  of 
the  carding  and  combing  machinery  had  been 
run  night  and  day,  and  it  was  decided,  if  pur- 
chasers for  the  tops  could  be  found,  to  run  the 
whole  of  this  machinery  night  and  day.  This 
was  done  during  a  small  portion  of  the  year 
1894,  and  practically  during  the  whole  of  the 
year  1895,  purchasers  being  found  at  satisfac- 
tory prices  and  for  considerable  quantities,  for 
all  the  tops  it  was  possible  to  produce  in  excess 
of  the  Arlington  Mills'  own  wants.  This  success 
seemed  to  fully  warrant  the  undertaking  of  the 
enterprise  described  in  these  pages. 

It  was  further  justified  by  the  previous  expe- 
rience of  the  Arlington  Mills  in  the  manufac- 
22 


ture  of  worsted  yarns  for  sale.      This  corpora-  specializa- 

—,  .„  TION  OF  THE 

tiou  was  among  the  first  New  England  mills  to  worsted 

°  &  INDUSTRY 

undertake  the  manufacture  of  worsted  yarns  for 
sale  on  a  large  scale,  although  the  manufacture 
had  been  carried  on  in  Philadelphia  for  many 
years.  In  that  city,  where  they  have  a  com- 
pact network  of  manufacturing  establishments, 
all  within  hailing  distance  of  each  other,  the 
specialization  or  differentiation  of  the  wool 
manufacture,  its  division  into  distinct  and  sep- 
arate groups,  such  as  spinning,  weaving,  and 
finishing,  which  distinguish  it  abroad,  had  been 
making  headway  for  many  years  before  it  began 
to  appear  at  all  in  New  England,  showing,  in  a 
manner  instructive  to  the  student  of  economic 
conditions,  how  much  local  environment  has  to 
do  with  determining  the  special  development  of 
industries. 

The    experience    of    the  Arlington    Mills   in  The  manufac- 

ture  of  yarns  for 

the  manufacture  of  worsted  yarns  for  sale  had  sale 
proved  that  the  industry  was  already  in  a  state 
sufficiently  advanced  to  permit  of  further  devel- 
opment along  the  line  of  the  least  resistance,  to 
borrow  a  phrase  from  the  scientist.  When  the 
manufacturer  could  make  worsted  goods  without 
incurring  the  added  expense  of  all  the  machin- 
ery for  making  the  yarns,  it  followed  that  the 
manufacture  must  grow,  not  only  faster  but 
more  safely;  for  it  was  at  once  placed  upon 
23 


Advantages  of 
the  method 


specializa-    a  healthier   basis,  from  an  economic  point  of 

TION  OF  THE      .  L 

worsted        view,     lo-day  the  manufacture  of  worsted  yarns 

INDUSTRY  J  .  J 

for  sale  employs  all  the  energies  of  a  number 
of  mills ;  the  business  is  growing  and  will  con- 
tinue to  grow,  for  the  method  permits  of  more 
economical  and,  on  the  whole,  more  satisfactory 
manufacturing. 

The  smaller  user  of  worsted  yarns  can  buy 
them  cheaper  than  he  can  make  them.  He 
buys  only  such  yarns,  in  the  first  place,  as  ex- 
actly meet  his  requirements.  If  he  is  making 
his  own  yarns,  he  must  use  good,  bad,  and  in- 
different, just  as  they  come  from  the  frames. 
It  is  not  difficult  to  understand  why  the  manu- 
facturer who  spins  a  comparatively  small  quan- 
tity of  yarn  cannot  obtain  as  uniformly  good 
results  as  the  manufacturer  engaged  in  making 
millions  of  pounds.  In  the  first  place,  he  can- 
not buy  his  stock  to  such  good  advantage  :  and 
therefore  he  cannot  obtain  such  perfect  uni- 
formity in  his  sorts.  In  the  second  place,  where 
the  spinning  done  is  large  in  amount,  the  expert 
supervision  is  of  a  higher  grade  and  the  atten- 
tion to  every  detail  necessary  to  perfect  work 
is  closer  and  more  exacting.  All  yarns  made 
for  sale  must  conform  to  a  fixed  standard. 
That  standard  it  is  cheaper  and  easier  to  buy, 
under  certain  conditions,  than  to  maintain  for 
one's  self. 

24 


All  that  is  true  of  yarns,  in  these  respects,  is  specializa- 

n  i-i  r-  t  •    i        i  TION  OF  THE 

equally  true  or  the  tops  from  which  the  yarns  worsted 

1  J  L  J  INDUSTRY 

are  made.     Whatever  advantage  accrues  to  the 

weaver,  from  the  ability  to  buy  yarns    suited  The  same  with 

.  •    i  i  mi  n  i       tops  as  with 

to  his  special  needs,  will  accrue  equally  to  the  yams 
spinner  from  the  opportunity  to  buy  tops. 

Thus  one  development  leads  logically  and  nat- 
urally up  to  another.  Every  advance  in  one 
direction  is  sure  to  inaugurate  other  advances 
in  a  great  variety  of  other  directions.  Once  the 
specialization  of  a  great  industry  has  fairly 
started,  its  further  progress  is  certain,  even 
though  it  may  be  gradual. 

The  construction  of  an  American  top  mill, 
under  the  manufacturing  conditions  above  de- 
scribed, compelling  the  investment  of  a  large 
amount  of  capital,  in  anticipation  of  the  de- 
velopment of  a  business  still  in  embryo,  so  to 
speak,  may  at  first  sight  appear  to  involve  a 
large  element  of  chance  and  uncertainty.  For 
that  reason  it  may  be  worth  while  to  enter 
somewhat  at  length,  in  this  connection,  into  the 
reasons  which  lead  to  the  conviction,  on  the  part 
of  the  Arlington  Mills'  management,  that  the 
top  business,  the  foundations  of  which  are  al- 
ready laid,  is  sure  to  develop,  and  needs  only 
the  stimulus  of  such  a  plant  as  it  has  constructed 
to  develop  rapidly.  That  it  is  an  instance  in 
which 

25 


SPECIALIZA- 
TION OF   THE 
WORSTED 
INDUSTRY 


Imports  of  for- 
eign tops 


"  increase  of  appetite  had  grown 
By  what  it  fed  on," 

is  not  only  shown  by  the  experience  of  the  Ar- 
lington Mills  during  the  past  three  years,  in 
constantly  being  called  upon  to  supply  tops  and 
rovings  to  other  mills,  although  not  equipped 
to  that  end  or  in  the  market  with  that  class  of 
goods,  but  also  by  the  statistics  of  importations 
under  the  recent  tariff. 

Prior  to  the  enactment  of  the  tariff  act  of 
1894,  the  duty  on  tops  and  rovings,  being  the 
same  as  that  imposed  upon  the  finished  goods, 
was  prohibitory,  or  high  enough  to  be  so  re- 
garded, in  the  absence  of  any  demand  for  them. 
Up  to  1894,  practically  no  worsted  tops  had 
ever  been  imported  into  the  United  States.  By 
the  law  of  that  year,  not  only  was  the  specific 
duty  wholly  removed  from  tops,  in  consequence 
of  the  removal  of  all  duty  from  wool,  but  the  ad 
valorem  duty  was  reduced  to  twenty  per  cent. 
Almost  immediately  there  sprang  up  a  consid- 
erable importation  of  tops  and  rovings,  which 
reached,  in  the  first  year  under  the  new  law,  a 
total  of  1,567,372  pounds ;  in  the  second  year 
a  total  of  1,147,461  pounds ;  and  in  the  third 
year,  that  ending  June  30,  1897,  a  total  of 
5,662,952  pounds,  having  a  foreign  value  of 
$1,821,405. 

26 


This  great  importation  of  the  last  year  was  specializa- 

-  -.  ,  .      .  C         1  TI0N    0P     THE 

or  course  largely  anticipatory  or  the  enactment  worsted 

°    /  .  .  .    INDUSTRY 

of  the  new  tariff;  but  it  was  conclusive  evi- 
dence that  there  is  a  market  for  the  commodity, 
which  only  requires  a  supply.  That  this  supply 
cannot  hereafter  be  obtained  from  abroad  is 
evident  to  those  familiar  with  the  peculiar 
construction  of  the  tariff  act  of  July  24,  1897. 
This  act  provides  (par.  364)  that  "  Wool  and 
hair  which  have  been  advanced  in  any  manner 
or  by  any  process  of  manufacture  beyond  the 
washed  or  scoured  condition,  not  specially  pro-  The  new  tariff 
vided  for  in  this  act,  shall  be  subject  to  the  same 
duties  as  are  imposed  upon  manufactures  of  wool 
not  specially  provided  for  in  this  act."  Tops, 
rovings  and  ropings,  the  semi-manufactured  pro- 
ducts of  wool,  are  all  included  in  this  classifica- 
tion. It  is  plain  that  Congress,  in  fixing  these 
rates  of  duty,  was  governed  by  the  desire  to 
encourage  in  this  country  not  simply  the  manu- 
facture of  the  finished  articles,  but  also  of  the 
semi-manufactured  products  out  of  which  they 
are  made.  The  Arlington  top  mill  was  planned 
at  a  time  when  nobody  dreamed  of  a  tariff  act 
like  that  of  1897 ;  it  was  practically  completed 
before  that  act  was  framed;  and  it  is  fortu- 
nately in  a  position  to  supply,  from  a  domestic 
source,  a  demand  which  can  hardly  be  supplied 
hereafter  from  abroad. 

27 


specializa-        It  is  evident,  then,  that  there  is  a  demand  for 

TION  OF  THE  .  .         TT    .,      ,     0j     2  ,  ,        -  .    ,      . 

worsted        tops  in  the   United  htates,  a  demand  which  is 

INDUSTRY  r 

due  to  the  operation  of  the  causes  we  have  been 
enumerating.  In  taking  the  step  which  will 
supply  this  developing  demand  from  a  domestic 
source,  the  Arlington  Mills  is  rendering  possible 
a  much  more  rapid  advancement  of  the  worsted 
manufacture  in  the  immediate  future.  We  will 
point  out  one  reason  in  particular  why  this 
must  be  so.  Undoubtedly  the  cause  of  the  rela- 
tively slow  development  of  the  worsted  manu- 
facture in  the  United  States  has  been  the  excep- 
iiess  capital  re-   tionally  large    capital  required  in  the  way  of 

quired  to  manu-  _ 

facture  plant.     It  has  been  necessary  to  equip  a  mill 

from  the  start  of  the  wool  to  the  finish  of  the 
goods.  The  machinery  required  in  the  prepara- 
tory processes  of  the  manufacture  of  worsted 
yarn  is  costly  and  elaborate,  compelling  a  much 
larger  outlay  of  capital  than  the  preparatory 
machinery  of  the  woolen  manufacture. 

It  has  been  estimated  that  three  fifths  of  the 
total  cost  of  a  worsted  spinning  plant  is  incurred 
for  machinery  necessary  to  processes  which  are 
prior  to  the  spinning  frame  itself,  i.  e.,  to  the 
making  of  the  top.  Once  the  top  is  made,  it  is 
comparatively  easy  and  inexpensive  to  draw  and 
spin  it  into  yarn.  A  comparatively  small  amount 
of  capital  will  therefore  equip  a  spinning  mill, 
where  the  necessity  is  removed  for  making  the 
28 


top.     It  may   be   fairly  anticipated,  therefore,  specializa- 

,  .        .  TION  OF  THE 

when  the  opportunity  is  thus  opened,  that  such  worsted 

rlr  .       J  r  INDUSTRY 

spinning  plants  will  spring  up  ;  and  that  as  they 

increase  in  number  there  will  be  a  corresponding  An  increase  of 

spinning  mills 

increase  in  the  number  01  weaving  plants,  de- 
pending upon  spinners  to  supply  all  the  yarns 
that  may  be  required. 

It  is  in  this  way  that  the  foreign  manufacturer 
has  largely  obtained  his  advantage  over  our 
own.  Yorkshire  is  full  of  comparatively  small 
establishments,  engaged  exclusively  in  the  busi- 
ness either  of  spinning  or  of  weaving.  Many  of 
the  colossal  fortunes  made  in  the  textile  indus- 
tries of  England  began  in  this  humble  fashion. 
Having  received  an  order  for  a  certain  kind 
and  quantity  of  yarn,  the  spinner  has  only  to 
go  upon  the  market  and  purchase  the  necessary 
amount  of  tops  to  fill  his  order.  He  is  able  to 
pay  the  top  maker's  profit  out  of  his  saving  of 
interest  upon  a  large  investment  in  plant  and  a 
long  holding  of  his  raw  materials.  The  capital 
needed  is  not  only  much  smaller,  but  it  can  be 
turned  over  much  more  rapidly.  The  lack  of 
similar  facilities,  due  to  minute  specialization, 
has  been  a  distinct  handicap  to  the  progress  of 
the  worsted  manufacture  in  this  country. 

Having  thus  described  the  general  plan  of  this 
new  departure,  the  reasons  which  have  justified 
it,  and  the  advantages  that  must  spring  from  it, 
29 


specializa-    we  proceed  to  a  detailed  description  of  the  new 
worsted        buildings  which  have  been  constructed  at  Law- 

INDUSTRY 

rence  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  it  on,  of  the 
new  machinery  installed,  and  of  some  of  the  new 
methods  and  processes  of  manufacture  which 
have  been  adopted,  after  long  and  careful  exper- 
iments, to  secure  the  best  possible  results. 


Ladies  Spinning  and  Weaving 

(Prom  a  Fifteenth  Century  MS.  in  British  Museum) 


CHAPTER   III 

DESCRIPTION    OF   THE   NEW    TOP   MILL 


IPftPltF  the  reader  will  glance  at  the  ground  Location  of  the 

-HTM1  i  new  mill 

plan  of  the  Arlington  Mills  given  here- 
with, he  can  obtain  at  a  glance  a  gen- 


eral idea  of  the  relation  of  the  new  top  mill, 
31 


description  both  as  to  size  and  location,  to  the  older  portions 

OF  THE  NEW  .  .n  ,   . 

top  mill  01  the  plant.  Ihe  new  spinning  mill  erected  in 
1891  abuts  the  corner  of  Broadway  and  what  was 
then  known  as  Chalmers  street.  Subsequent  to 
the  erection  of  the  spinning  mill,  the  corporation 
added  to  its  property  north  of  Chalmers  street, 
and  the  city  government  of  Lawrence,  in  view  of 
the  plan  to  erect  a  new  top  mill  on  this  property, 
closed  Chalmers  street  as  a  public  highway,  the 
fee  in  which  already  belonged  to  the  corporation, 
and  granted  the  Arlington  Mills  the  exclusive 
right  to  its  use,  since  it  led  nowhere  except  into 
the  mill  property.  What  was  Chalmers  street  is 
therefore  now  the  broad  passageway  separating 
the  top  mill  from  the  spinning  mill. 

size  The  new  structure  is  one  of  the  largest  mill 

buildings  in  the  United  States.  Its  actual  di- 
mensions are  677  feet  7  inches  in  length  by 
109  feet  8  inches  in  width,  over  all,  outside,  with 
a  wing  88  feet  8  inches  long  by  78  feet  5  inches 
wide  inside.  The  wing  is  two  stories  with  base- 
ment, and  the  main  building  four  stories  with 
basement. 

The  main  build-  This  main  building  is  divided  at  the  engine- 
room  by  a  belt  race  ten  feet  wide,  inclosed  by 
brick  walls  running  up  to  the  third  story  above 
the  basement,  making  divisions  of  the  basement 
and  first  and  second  stories  into  two  rooms  each  at 
this  point.  The  first  story  front  room,  528  feet 
32 


rag, 


long  inside,  is  the  combine-room.     The  room  in  description 
the  rear  of  this,  128  feet  long  and  101  feet  wide,  top  mill 
inside,  and  the  basement  room  under  it  (the 
wash-room  proper)  are  devoted  to  the  handling 
and  washing  of  the  wool. 

The  carding  floor  (the  second  story),  though 
divided  into  two  rooms  of  the  same  dimensions 
as  those  on  the  floor  below,  is  so  constructed  as 
to  constitute  practically  one  great  room. 

The  third  floor  is  the  storage-room,  divided 
by  one  partition  wall  instead  of  two,  so  that 
the  dimensions  are  respectively  528  feet  long 
by  101  feet  wide  and  139  feet  4  inches  long  by 
101  feet  wide. 

The  entire  fourth  floor  is  the  new  sorting-  The  sorting- 

room 

room,  and  its  division  and  dimensions  are  the 
same  as  those  of  the  storage  floor.  The  sorting 
benches  are  so  arranged  around  this  top  floor 
as  to  give  under  ordinary  circumstances  one 
window  bay  to  each  sorter,  the  room  accommo- 
dating, in  this  way,  155  wool  sorters.  But  by 
placing  an  additional  double  row  of  benches 
down  the  middle  of  the  room,  the  number  of 
sorters  can  be  doubled,  still  leaving  ample  elbow 
room  for  each  sorter. 

The  arrangement  of  these  several  floors  has  Arrangement  of 

t  n    -n  t     i         •   i  •  i  the  building 

been  carefully  studied,  with  a  view  to  the  utmost 

economy  of  time  and  labor  in  the  handling  of 

the  material  at  the  several  stages  of  manufac- 

33 


description  ture.     The  progress  of  the  wool  from  the  time 

OF  THE  NEW 

top  mill  when  it  has  been  delivered  from  the  cars,  in  the 
bale,  to  the  sorting-room  at  the  top  of  the  build- 
ing, is  downward,  from  floor  to  floor,  until  the 
finished  top  reaches  the  basement,  where  it  re- 
mains for  storage,  unless  it  is  to  go  into  imme- 
diate use.  Nearly  the  whole  of  this  basement, 
except  the  wash-room,  is  devoted  to  the  storage 
of  the  completed  tops.  It  has  been  carefully 
constructed,  so  as  to  secure  the  proper  tempera- 
ture in  all  weathers.  It  has  a  storage  capacity 
of  a  million  and  a  half  pounds  of  top.  This 
basement  connects  directly  with  a  large  wing  on 
the  south  side  of  the  building,  which  contains 
the  shipping  department  and  connects  directly 
with  the  railroad  tracks  of  the  Boston  and  Maine 
railroad.  In  this  wing  are  located  also  the  of- 
fices for  the  clerical  force  of  this  department  of 
the  mill,  and  also  those  of  the  overseer  and  his 
clerks. 

Heat  and  venti-  The  ventilation  of  this  building  is  provided 
for  by  means  of  drosophore  fan  intakes,  which 
supply  both  moisture  and  fresh  air  at  the  same 
time.  The  temperature  of  the  a.ir  can  be  some- 
what regulated,  according  to  the  season,  by 
using  cold  water  or  warm  water.  It  is  calcu- 
lated that  any  additional  heat  will  not  be  re- 
quired either  on  the  combing  floor  or  the  card- 
room  floor,  beyond  that  which  is  supplied  in 
34 


lation 


the  necessary  heatinp-  of  the  machinery  itself,  description 

17  °  .  .  '  .OF  THE  NEW 

The  upper  floor,  containing  the  sorting-room,  is  top  mill 
heated  by  a  hot  air  system.  The  building  is  so 
arranged  that  the  ventilation  of  the  lower  rooms 
may  serve  to  keep  the  storage-room  sufficiently 
warm.  All  the  arrangements  for  heating  and 
ventilating  the  building  have  been  constructed 
in  accordance  with  the  latest  scientific  plans. 

The  building  is  equipped  with  drosophores, 
which  permit  the  regulation  of  the  humidity  of 
the  atmosphere,  to  meet  the  most  exact  require- 
ments of  perfect  manufacturing. 

The  main  stairway  of  the  building  is  situated  stairways 
very  near  the  centre,  and  is  arranged  on  the 
double  flight  plan,  that  is  to  say,  one  flight  on 
each  side  with  a  wide  middle  stairway.  Expe- 
rience has  shown  that  this  arrangement  is  the 
most  advantageous  to  assist  in  rapid  exit. 

Two  other  stairways  facilitate  connection  be- 
tween the  several  stories.  One  of  them  is  at 
the  northeast  corner,  within  an  interior  tower, 
so  as  to  be  used  as  a  fire  escape.  The  other 
stairway  tower  is  at  the  southwest  corner,  next 
to  the  engine-room.  It  will  also  serve  as  a  fire 
escape,  and  contains,  in  addition,  a  hydraulic 
elevator,  connecting  all  the  floors  from  the  base- 
ment to  the  sorting-room.  These  towers  also 
contain  the  retiring-rooms  for  the  employees. 

A  second  hydraulic  elevator  runs  between  the  Elevators 
35 


description  walls  of  the  belt  race  which  intersects  the  build- 

OF  THE  NEW  . 

top  mill  mg  near  the  centre.  Inis  elevator  affords  quick 
connection  between  the  wash-house,  the  carding- 
room,  and  the  combing-room.  A  third  elevator 
runs  between  the  basement  and  the  first  floor  of 
the  shipping-room  wing.  This  elevator  is  also 
connected  with  the  combing-room  and  the  base- 
ment under  the  main  building,  and  with  each 
floor  above. 

Engine  and  boil-       The    boiler-house    and    engine-room  comprise 

ers  .  . 

another  one-story  wing  of  the  building  located 
on  the  same  side  as  the  shipping  wing.  The 
chimney  is  175  feet  high  and  has  a  six-foot 
inside  core.  In  the  engine-room  is  a  compound 
condensing  Corliss  engine  of  about  1200  horse 
power. 

The  boilers  are  of  the  water  tube  type,  in 
three  banks  of  two  boilers  each.  They  are  also 
fitted  with  stokers  and  automatic  coal  supply,  so 
arranged  that  one  man  can  take  care  of  the 
entire  boiler-house,  including  the  removal  of  the 
ashes,  and  not  be  hard  pushed  at  that.  These 
Labor-saving      modern   facilities    for    the    saving    of  labor    in 

facilities  i«i  ,1  ,       •     .  .  • 

boiler-rooms  are  among  the  most  interesting 
signs  of  the  rapid  mechanical  advance  of  recent 
years,  although  they  are  not  more  striking,  per- 
haps, than  those  which  appear  throughout  the 
whole  mechanical  outfit  of  this  new  top  mill. 
From  the  preceding  description  of  the  build- 
36 


ing  containing  the  top-making  equipment,  the  description 
°  .  .      .  .     .  OF  THE  NEW 

reader  will  readily  infer  that  it  is  proposed  to  top  mill 

make  this  new  plant  an  organism  complete  in 
itself,  and  entirely  distinct  and  separate  from  a  complete  or- 
the  long-established  business  of  the  Arlington 
Mills.  The  top  mill  has  no  mechanical  connec- 
tion with  the  rest  of  the  plant.  It  not  only  has 
its  own  power  to  move  all  its  machinery,  but  it 
has  its  own  set  of  books  and  bookkeepers,  and 
all  its  accounts  will  be  separately  kept. 

Having  described  the  building,  we  can  now 
intelligently  follow  the  progress  of  the  material 
from  room  to  room,  and  process  to  process.  The 
raw  material,  on  reaching  the  mills,  is  carried 
directly  from  the  cars  to  the  upper  story,  where 
it  is  sorted.  The  sorts  which  are  to  be  deliv- 
ered for  degreasing  to  the  solvent  process  plant, 
described  in  the  next  chapter,  are  dropped 
directly  from  the  sorting-room  floor  into  cars  or  Handling  the 
large  trucks,  which  are  run  into  the  building  to 
receive  them,  on  the  first  floor,  in  the  depart- 
ment above  the  wash-house.  .  The  wool  is 
dropped  by  means  of  galvanized  iron  chutes, 
which  run  to  the  third  or  sort  storage  floor,  so 
that  the  material  can  be  taken  with  equal  ease 
from  either  the  sorting-room  or  storage-room. 
These  trucks  are  delivered  to  the  solvent 
process  plant  by  an  electric  motor  system. 
They  are  so  adjusted  as  to  dimensions  that  they 
37 


description  can  be  elevated  to  the  top  floor  of   the  solvent 

OF  THE  NEW  ,  x 

top  mill        process  building,  run    alongside  the  kiers,  and 
emptied,  practically  without  handling. 

The  wool  having  been  degreased,  the  kiers  are 
so  arranged  that  they  empty  their  contents 
directly  back  into  the  trucks.  By  the  electric 
motor  system,  they  are  thence  brought  back  to 
the  top  mill,  where  they  are  carried  into  the 
first  floor,  directly  above  the  wash-house,  where 
they  are  unloaded,  ready  for  delivery  into  the 
feeders  of  the  washers  below.  From  the  wash- 
room, the  material  passes  to  the  card-room  on 
the  second  floor  above.  Having  been  carded, 
the  card  balls  are  dropped  by  means  of  chutes 
to  the  first  or  combing-room  floor.  Thence  the 
progress  is  steadily  forward,  without  direct 
handling,  from  one  series  of  machines  to  the 
next  series,  passing  from  the  gilling-machines  to 
the  combing-machines,  and  thence  to  the  balling- 
machines,  without  once  being  placed  in  a  truck. 
After  being  balled  on  the  finishing  boxes  'into 

The  storage  of  top,  the  material  is  dropped  from  this  combing- 
room  floor  through  chutes,  into  trucks,  which 
await  it  in  the  basement,  and  which  carry  the 
different  grades  and  lots  of  tops  to  their  appro- 
priate location  in  the  storage-room,  where  it  is 
finally  placed  in  bins.  It  should  be  added  that 
this  storage  basement  is  connected  through  the 
shipping-room  basement,  by  means  of  a  tunnel, 
38 


with  the  basement  of  the  spinning  department,  description 

1  7  OF  THK  NEW 

which  will  buy  its  top  from  the  top  mill  just  as  top  mill 
other  customers  do. 

It  is  calculated  that  there  can  be  delivered 
from  this  building,  with  these  improved  expedit- 
ing processes,  300,000  pounds  of  top  a  week, 
requiring  for  their  production  between  600,000 
and  800,000  pounds  of  greasy  wool  per  week. 
The  top  mill  is  thus  capable  of  consuming  the  capacity  of  the 
entire  wool  clip  of  the  States  of  Ohio  and  Cali- 
fornia, which,  next  to  Texas,  are  the  two  largest 
wool-growing  States  of  the  Union.  The  fleeces 
of  20,000  sheep  will  pass  through  its  machinery 
every  day  that  it  is  in  full  operation.  Its  ca- 
pacity is  equal  to  one  eighth  of  the  total  wool 
clip  of  the  United  States. 


Egyptians  preparing  Flax 

(From  a  Theban  frieze) 


CHAPTER   IV 


Defects  of  pre- 
vious methods 
of  wool  cleansing 


THE  SOLVENT  PROCESS  FOR  CLEANSING  WOOL 

N  describing  the  new  methods  adopted 
at  the  Arlington  Mills  to  insure  perfec- 
tion of  product,  we  begin  naturally  with 
the  cleansing  of  the  wool,  which  is  the  first  point 
in  the  manufacture.  It  is  at  this  initial  stage 
that  the  most  valuable  of  all  recent  improve- 
ments in  the  handling  of  the  fibre  is  to  be 
applied  at  Lawrence. 

Up  to  the  time  when  the  naphtha  process  of 
cleansing  wool  was  first  successfully  undertaken 
at  the  Arlington  Mills,  about  three  years  ago, 
this  operation  remained  the  most  defective  point 
in  the  whole  process  of  the  manipulation  of  wool. 
This  was  the  more  extraordinary,  not  simply 
40 


because  it  is  the  initial  step,  but  because  it  is  the  the  solvent 

•  -it  <•  PROCESS 

step  upon  which  depends  the  success  of  every 
subsequent  process.  If  the  wool  is  injured  in 
the  cleansing,  or  if  it  is  only  partially  cleansed, 
if  its  fibre  is  impaired  by  contact  with  too  power- 
ful alkalies,  or  by  immersion  in  overheated 
scouring  solutions,  the  harm  done  is  visible  at 
every  subsequent  stage,  not  merely  in  its  effects 
upon  the  working  qualities  of  the  wool,  but  in 
the  "feel,"  appearance,  and  durability  of  the 
goods  produced  from  it.  Poorly  scoured  wool 
resists  the  action  of  mordants,  and  takes  on  a 
"  streaky  "  color,  because  the  dyes  cannot  pro- 
perly penetrate  the  fibre.  Many  an  unsuccessful 
wool  manufacturer  can  trace  his  troubles  straight 
to  the  scouring-room  ;  many  do  trace  them  there, 
only  to  find  themselves  confronted  by  a  problem 
which  they  are  helpless  to  solve. 

Of  course,  there  are  many  excellent  scouring  Agencies  for 

.  .  .  tit  i  wool  scouring 

machines  m  existence,  and  there  have  been  great 
improvements  made  in  recent  years.  The  diffi- 
culty has  not  been  altogether  with  the  machines, 
but  with  the  agencies  used  in  connection  with 
the  machines,  to  cleanse  the  wool  in  its  passage 
through  them.  Potash,  carbonate  of  soda,  sili- 
cate of  soda,  ammonia,  and  soap  are  all  more 
or  less  used  in  wool  washing.  In  the  old  days 
urine  was  a  common  agency  used  in  the  house- 
hold manufacture,  and  was  a  better  material,  so 
41 


the  solvent  far  as  its  effects  on  the  wool  were  concerned, 

PROCESS 

than  many  of  the  modern  substitutes.  To-day 
soaps  are  the  scouring  agents  most  generally 
employed ;  and  the  results  necessarily  depend 
very  largely  upon  the  quality  of  the  soap  used. 
This  is  one  of  the  many  difficulties  in  the  way 
of  successful  scouring,  for  perfectly  satisfactory 
soap  is  hard  to  find. 

It  follows  that  the  scientists  who  study  wool 
have  for  years  devoted  much  labor  and  investi- 
gation to  efforts  to  discover  some  new  and  really 
scientific  process  for  scouring  wool.  Many  a 
man  has  thought  himself  on  the  point  of  fame 
and  fortune,  only  to  be  bitterly  disappointed, 
when  his  discovery  was  subjected  to  actual  test. 
a  difficult  prob-  Wool  is  so  different  in  its  characteristics  from 
every  other  product  of  nature,  that  one  must 
understand  it  just  as  a  mother  understands  her 
child,  in  order  to  deal  with  it  successfully  at  the 
stage  when  it  requires  the  most  delicate  han- 
dling, that  is,  while  it  is  passing  from  the  greasy 
to  the  scoured  condition.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  old-fashioned  way  of  cleansing  it  —  the  use  of 
a  given  amount  of  potash  and  soap  and  water  at 
a  given  temperature  —  has  never  yet  in  general 
practice  been  superseded.  In  the  old  days,  they 
used  to  scour  it  in  tubs,  very  much  as  clothes 
were  washed.  With  the  introduction  of  modern 
machines  for  cleansing  large  quantities  rapidly, 
42 


lem 


the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  perfect  results  have  the  solvent 

m  .  .  •      process 

become«more  manifest.     Those  difficulties  arise 

from  the  impossibility  of  always  maintaining  the 
same  conditions,  as  to  the  heat  of  the  water  and 
the  strength  of  the  alkali.  Dr.  F.  H.  Bowman, 
the  English  expert  in  wool,  has  written  that  his 
own  experience  has  shown  him  that  in  a  bowl 
of  water  and  wool,  the  temperature  of  the  water 
in  some  parts  may  almost  approach  the  boiling 
point,  212  degrees  F.,  while  in  other  parts  of  the 
same  bowl  it  may  not  be  more  than  90  degrees 
F.,  or  even  less.  The  best  results  are  impossi- 
ble under  such  uneven  conditions.  The  mere 
felting  effect  of  a  soap  bath  is  sufficient  to  cause 
material  detriment  to  the  proper  condition  of  the 
staple  for  after  handling. 

Theoretically,  the  most  perfect  condition  in 
which  the  fleece  of  the  wool  could  be  delivered 
to  the  card  would  be  precisely  the  condition  in 
which  it  is  grown,  without  any  disturbance  be- 
yond the  separation  of  one  lock  from  another, 
and  in  addition  total  freedom  from  dirt  and 
grease.  This  can  only  be  done  approximately 
under  the  best  of  circumstances,  and  as  a  rule 
the  approximation  is  very  far  indeed  from  per- 
fection. 

The  problem  is  made  the  more  complex  by  Constituents  of 

wool 

the  number  of  different  elements  to  be    dealt 

with.     Chevreul's  analysis  of  a  particular  sam- 

43 


the  solvent  pie  of  merino  wool  showed  its  constituents  in  the 
process         r 

greasy  state  to  be  as  follows : — 

Earthy  substances 26.06 

Suintoryolk 32.74 

Fatty  matter 8.57 

Earthy  matter  fixed  by  grease        .         .         .        1.40 
Clean  wool 31.23 


in  one 


100.00 

The  problem  of  dealing  with  these  different 
substances  presents  two  distinct  phases ;  and  the 
defects  of  all  previous  systems  of  cleansing  wool 
have  grown  out  of  the  fact  that  they  have  un- 
dertaken to  remove  both  varieties  of  substances, 
the  dirt  proper  and  the  yolk  and  fatty  matter, 
by  one  and  the  same  process,  and  the  wool  has 
necessarily  suffered  in  consequence. 
Two  processes  The  advantage  of  the  new  process  adopted  at 
the  Arlington  Mills  lies  primarily  in  the  fact 
that  it  is  two  separate  processes.  The  grease  is 
first  extracted  from  the  wool,  leaving  behind  in 
the  wool,  besides  the  earth  and  dirt  which  natu- 
rally accumulate,  an  abundance  of  natural  -pot- 
ash soap,  by  which  it  is  easily  washed,  —  once 
the  grease  is  removed,  —  without  the  addition 
of  any  other  soap  or  alkalies,  in  a  water  heated 
only  to  a  very  low  temperature. 

The  consequence  is  that  under  the  new  pro- 
cess the  wool  comes  from  the  ordinary  scouring 
machine,  after  having  first  passed  through  the 
44 


naphtha  process,  in  a  light,  fluffy,  "  lofty  "  con-  the  solvent 

dition,  which  greatly  facilitates  its  manufacture 

at  every  subsequent  stage.     The  contrast  is  not 

unlike  that  between  a  batch  of  bread  which  rises 

perfectly,  under  the  operation  of  the  yeast,  and 

another  batch  which  for  some  scientific  reason 

does  not  rise  at  all. 

Chemists  have  long  been  familiar  with  the  Naphtha  and  u- 
fact  that  the  grease  of  wool  can  be  entirely  re-  bon  ' 
moved  from  the  fibre  by  the  use  of  some  solvent 
material,  such  as  petroleum  ether  (naphtha), 
or  bi-sulphide  of  carbon.  Endless  experiments 
have  been  made  with  these  substances,  in  search 
of  a  practical  method  of  utilizing  them  for  this 
purpose.  These  experiments  always  demon- 
strated that  the  use  of  such  a  solvent  left  the 
wool  in  a  superior  condition ;  but  no  method  of 
practically  applying  them  was  devised  until  that 
now  in  operation  at  the  Arlington  Mills  was 
perfected. 

Some  years  ago  the  late  Sir  Isaac  Holden,  Hoiden's  experi- 
the  Bradford  wool  comber,  experimented  with 
bi-sulphide  of  carbon  on  a  practical  scale,  and 
at  a  large  expenditure.  The  results  were  en- 
tirely satisfactory,  so  far  as  the  wool  itself  was 
concerned ;  but  no  practical  method  of  applica- 
tion was  devised  which  obviated  the  very  great 
danger  in  the  handling  of  so  combustible  a  ma- 
terial. Several  explosions  occurred,  by  which 
45 


the  solvent  two  or  three  persons  lost  their  lives  ;  and  these 
accidents  finally  led  the  borough  of  Bradford 
to  pass  an  ordinance  forbidding  any  further  use 
of  the  process  within  its  limits.  So  far  as 
we  are  informed,  no  English  manufacturer  has 
ventured  to  take  up  the  experiments  at  the 
point  where  Sir  Isaac  Holden  abandoned  them. 
But  similar  experiments,  both  with  naphtha  and 
bi-sulphide  of  carbon,  have  been  frequent  in 
France  and  Germany ;  and  in  the  United  States 
the  practical  application  of  the  solvent  process 
has  been  several  times  attempted,  notably  at 
Pompton,  New  Jersey,  only  to  be  subsequently 
abandoned  on  account  of  the  inherent  diffi- 
culties of  the  problem.  It  is  satisfactory  to 
American  pride  that  the  practical  achievement 
of  this  great  problem,  over  which  the  brightest 
scientists  of  Europe  have  so  long  been  at  work, 
should  have  been  accomplished  on  American 
soil. 

Mrs.  Richards'        Some  time  prior  to   any  of  the  experiments 

experiments  . 

named  above,  the  very  great  advantages  of  this 
method  of  cleansing  wool  were  demonstrated  by 
Mrs.  Ellen  H.  Richards,  professor  of  chemistry 
in  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  at 
Boston.  In  the  Bulletin  of  the  National  Asso- 
ciation of  Wool  Manufacturers  for  March,  1879, 
appears  a  letter  from  Mrs.  Richards,  in  which 
she  details  the  results  of  some  experiments  she 
46 


THE    ANGORA    GOAT   (FROM   WHICH    MOHAIR    IS   OBTAINED) 
ASIA   MINOR 


had  been  making;  with  the  natural  oil,  grease,  or  the  solvent 

,  °  .         PROCESS 

suint  of  sheep  s  wool.  Mrs.  Jtuchards  was  im- 
pressed by  the  fact  that  here  was  a  valuable  by- 
product of  wool  which  went  absolutely  to  waste 
in  this  country,  notwithstanding  that  it  was 
carefully  saved  in  France  and  other  wool  manu- 
facturing countries,  and  much  of  it  imported 
into  the  United  States  under  the  name  of  de- 
gras,  for  the  use  of  curriers  and  for  many  other 
purposes. 

In  studying  how  this  by-product  of  wool 
might  be  saved  to  economical  advantage,  Mrs. 
Richards  found  that  bi-sulphide  of  carbon  had 
been  used  to  some  extent  in  France,  but  with 
unsatisfactory  results,  not  only  on  account  of 
the  heat  required  to  volatilize  the  solvent  and 
the  consequent  danger  of  explosion,  but  also 
because  of  the  high  cost  of  the  bi-sulphide  of 
carbon.  She  accordingly  turned  her  attention  Naphtha  as  a 
to  naphtha,  and  quickly  discovered  that  it  was 
a  solvent  in  many  respects  superior  to  the 
other.  Indeed,  she  learned  that  there  were 
already  several  patented  processes  for  the  use  of 
benzine  for  the  extraction  of  wool  grease,  none 
of  which,  she  convinced  herself,  had  any  practi- 
cal value.  But  she  became  satisfied  that  by  the 
use  of  a  higher  quality  of  naphtha,  of  about  86 
degrees,  the  results  desired  could  be  admirably 
accomplished.  As  a  matter  of  historical  inter- 
47 


the  solvent  est,  we  quote  here  her  account  of  the  method  of 
process  x 

procedure  she  adopted : — 

"  We  packed  the  wool  in  a  closed  vessel,  and 
allowed  the  naphtha  to  remain  in  contact  with 
it  for  about  twenty  minutes  without  any  appli- 
cation of  heat.  The  liquid  was  then  drawn  off 
and  fresh  naphtha  run  in ;  the  process  being- 
repeated  two  or  three  times,  according  to  the 
amount  of  grease  in  the  wool.  '  Gasoline  '  of 
this  quality  boils  at  90°  to  100°  F.,  and  air  of 
50°  or  60°  F.  completely  removes  it.  The 
naphtha  has  no  affinity  for  water,  and  does  not, 
in  this  cold  liquid  form,  carry  away  any  moist- 
ure ;  very  little  will  be  taken  out  by  air  of  60° 
F.  before  the  naphtha  is  all  gone.  In  the  large 
way,  a  current  of  warm  air  would  now  be  passed 
through  to  carry  off  the  absorbed  liquid  ;  in  our 
experiments  we  simply  exposed  the  drained  wool 
to  the  out-door  air  for  a  few  hours.  The  wool 
is  picked  and  beaten  (the  dust  being  saved), 
then  put  into  warm  water  and  washed  without 
the  aid  of  any  other  substance  than  the  soap  of 
potash  which  is  left  on  the  fibre,  untouched  by 
the  naphtha.  The  wool  thus  obtained  is  very 
white  and  soft,  and  has  a  '  crinkly  '  appearance." 
Gains  from  the  Mrs.  Richards  proceeded  to  state  some  of  the 
advantages  which  she  observed,  as  the  result  of 
this  method  of  extracting  the  grease  ;  she  named 
"  the  more  perfect  cleansing  of  the  wool,  the 
48 


naphtha  process 


better  condition    of   the   fibre  for  taking  dyes,  the  solvent 

°     _  '  PROCESS 

the  ready  recovery  of  the  waste  product,  and  the 
prevention  of  the  furthur  pollution  of  streams 
from  wool-washing  establishments."  The  only 
disadvantage  she  would  admit  was  "  the  inflam- 
mable character  of  the  naphtha,  rendering  a 
separate  building  necessary."  She  added  that 
"  this  is  not  an  insuperable  obstacle,  as  the  use 
of  the  substance  for  several  industries  has  been 
perfectly  successful." 

Time  has  vindicated  Mrs.  Richards'  judg- 
ment in  this  respect.  The  solvent  process  has 
now  been  in  operation  at  the  Arlington  Mills 
long  enough  to  completely  demonstrate  its  suc- 
cess in  the  two  essential  particulars  :  It  pro- 
duces better  results  with  the  wool  than  any 
other  cleansing  process  that  has  ever  been  ap- 
plied ;  and  it  can  be  utilized,  on  a  large  scale, 
under  the  proper  mechanical  conditions,  without 
any  danger  whatever  to  the  establishment  or  to 
those  employed  in  it. 

The  history  of  the  introduction  of  the  solvent  Mr.  Maertens' 

.      i     .    n  j-   n  o  .L'  •    experiments 

process  is  briefly  as  follows :  Dome  time  previ- 
ous to  the  operation  of  the  plant  at  Pompton, 
N.  J.,  already  alluded  to,  Mr.  Emile  Maertens, 
of  Providence,  undertook,  at  the  suggestion  of 
the  Arlington  Mills,  to  devise  a  solution  of  the 
mechanical  and  chemical  difficulties  to  which 
allusion  has  been  made.  After  a  protracted 
49 


the  solvent  series  of  experiments,  he  finally  drew  up  plans 

PROCESS  .  .„        •  i-i  t    i  -i    '-, 

and  specifications,  which  were  studied,  amended, 
and  more  or  less  tested,  and  finally  an  agreement 
was  concluded  with  Mr.  Maertens,  for  the  intro- 
duction of  the  system  in  the  Arlington  Mills. 
By  the  spring  of  1895,  the  experimental  plant 
was  sufficiently  completed  to  permit  of  final 
tests  on  a  large  scale.  In  this  plant,  tests  were 
made  with  about  100,000  pounds  of  wool ;  and 
the  results  were  so  far  beyond  even  the  most 
sanguine  expectations,  that  there  was  no  longer 
any  hesitation  about  erecting  the  expensive 
plant  which  is  now  in  operation.  It  is  located 
at  a  distance  from  the  other  buildings,  and  con- 
structed with  every  safeguard  that  human  inge- 
nuity can  devise,  for  the  safety  and  comfort  of 
those  who  operate  it. 
Description  of         The  building,  which  is  a  wood   frame,  iron- 

the  new  solvent  ,       .        . 

plant  covered,  sits  in  a  copper  tank  of  sufficient  depth 

to  hold  all  the  thousands  of  gallons  of  naphtha 
carried  in  the  reservoirs,  should  any  accident 
discharge  the  latter,  thus  insuring  against  the 
escape  of  any  naphtha  into  the  sewers,  streams, 
or  adjoining  premises.  All  the  pipes,  tanks, 
digesters,  stills,  etc.,  are  electrically  connected 
with  this  copper  tank,  as  is  each  of  the  iron 
plates  which  cover  the  building.  The  copper 
tank  is  in  turn  electrically  connected  with  the 
neighboring  river  and  the  railroad  track,  thus 
50 


rendering  the  whole  structure  and  its  contents  the  solvent 


*s 


PROCESS 


lightning  proof.  A  large  gas  holder  outside  of 
the  building  is  filled  with  an  inert  gas,  or  a 
gas  which  does  not  form  an  explosive  mixture 
with  naphtha  vapors  or  with  atmospheric  air, 
which  does  not  support  combustion,  but  on  the 
contrary  has  the  property  of  extinguishing  fire. 
This  gas  is  compressed  and  used  as  the  motive 
power  to  move  the  naphtha  through  the  digesters, 
tanks,  etc.,  no  liquid  being  pumped  whatever. 
This  gas  is  also  used  as  an  atmosphere  in  which 
to  carry  on  the  degreasing  operation  and  to  re- 
place in  the  naphtha  tanks  any  liquid  being  with- 
drawn therefrom,  so  that  at  all  times  the  naphtha 
is  protected  by  an  atmosphere  of  a  fire-extin- 
guishing gas.  When  the  gas  has  done  its  work,  The  process 
or  when  it  is  driven  out  of  the  digesters,  tanks, 
etc.,  by  incoming  naphtha,  it  is  automatically 
returned  to  the  gas  holder  (to  be  re-used)  by 
way  of  a  trap  tank,  which  acts  as  a  water  seal 
and  safety  valve  between  the  system  and  the  gas 
holder.  This  method,  besides  insuring  against 
the  possibilities  of  an  explosion,  prevents  the 
loss  or  escape  of  any  gas  or  naphtha  vapors  into 
the  atmosphere.  Although  many  thousands  of 
gallons  of  naphtha  are  in  motion  all  the  time, 
there  is  not  the  slightest  smell  to  indicate  its 
presence  upon  the  premises,  the  degreasing 
operation  being  carried  on  in  a  closed  circuit 
51 


the  solvent  and  under  seal,  and  everything  being  absolutely 
tight.  Practically  all  of  the  solvent  used  in  the 
operation  is  recovered. 

condition  in  The  wool  having  been  stripped  of  its  grease 

which  it  leaves  .  , 

the  raw  material  by  the  solvent  process,  it  emerges  from  the  kiers 
or  digesters  in  a  perfect  condition,  without  the 
vestige  of  a  smell  of  naphtha  about  it.  It  is 
carried  at  once  to  ordinary  machines,  through 
which  it  is  passed,  in  tepid  water  only,  and 
whence  it  issues  in  a  condition  absolutely  clean 
and  sweet,  brilliantly  white,  and  in  workable 
condition  that  is  perfect.  The  use  of  the  wash- 
ing machines,  under  these  conditions,  requires 
the  minimum  mechanical  action  upon  the  fibre. 
No  unnatural  soaps  or  alkalies  have  touched  it ; 
no  highly  heated  water  has  affected  it.  The 
natural  alkali  of  the  wool  being  potash,  there  is 
still  left,  after  the  true  grease  of  the  wool  is 
removed  by  the  solvent  process,  a  natural  soap, 
whose  base  is  potash,  and  in  most  varieties  of 
wool  it  remains  in  quite  sufficient  quantity  to 
completely  and  thoroughly  wash  the  wool-  free 
from  dirt,  without  the  use  of  any  other  soap 
whatever. 

Applicable  to  aii      Every  variety  of  wool  or  textile  hair  comes 

wools  . 

from  this  process  of  cleansing  in  better  condi- 
tion than  from  any  other  that  has  yet  been  de- 
vised. Professor  Bowman,  already  quoted,  says 
that  "  the  higher  lustred  fibres,  such  as  mohairs 

52 


and  English  wools,  are  even  more   sensitive  to  the  solvent 

°  .  process 

temperature  and  free  alkali  than   other  wools, 

and  hence  in  washing  all  wools,  where  lustre  is 
important,  the  lowest  temperature  above  60°  F. 
and  the  perfect  neutrality  of  the  soaps  are  in- 
dispensable." 

Thus  the  exact  conditions  which  are  found  by  Advantages 

.  ,  i  c      ,  summarized 

science  to  be  necessary  to  the  perfect  prepara- 
tion of  wool  for  the  best  results  in  manufacture 
are  all  present  in  the  solvent  process  of  the  Ar- 
lington Mills.  The  gains  which  follow  are  more 
numerous  than  is  at  first  apparent.  One  of  them 
is  a  considerable  gain  in  the  weight  of  clean 
fibre  secured  from  a  given  amount  of  greasy 
wool,  as  compared  with  the  old  process  of  cleans- 
ing. Another  is  a  striking  reduction  in  the 
amount  of  noilage  in  combing,  due  to  the  fact 
that  none  of  the  staple  is  broken,  tangled,  or 
matted  in  the  washing  process.  Still  a  third  is 
the  great  saving  in  the  cost  of  soaps  and  alkalies 
dispensed  with ;  and  a  fourth  appears  from  the 
use  of  the  wool  oil  as  a  lubricant,  in  the  place 
of  olive  oil,  in  the  subsequent  processes  of  man- 
ufacture. A  fifth  is  found  in  the  saving  of  the 
bj^-products  of  the  wool,  hitherto  lost,  the  wool 
fat  and  the  carbonate  of  potash,  which  will  here- 
after figure  among  the  marketable  products  of 
the  Arlington  Mills. 

These  are  gains  which  make  for  the  advantage 
53 


the  solvent  of  the   corporation 

PROCESS 


The  solvent 
plant  to  be 
doubled 


Wool  suint,  or 
degras 


The  chief  gain,  and  one 
which  the  corporation  shares  with  all  its  custom- 
ers, is  the  superior  working  qualities  of  the  tops 
and  yarns  which  are  produced,  the  presence  of 
a  minimum  of  defective  material,  and  the  obvi- 
ous improvement  in  the  strength  and  softness  of 
the  goods  which  are  manufactured  therefrom. 

Up  to  the  present  time  the  Arlington  Mills 
has  cleansed,  by  its  solvent  process,  many  mil- 
lion pounds  of  wool ;  and  its  success  has  been 
so  complete,  and  the  results  secured  are  so  highly 
satisfactory,  that  plans  are  already  prepared  for 
the  construction  of  an  additional  plant  of  four 
kiers,  thus  doubling  the  present  capacity,  but 
with  no  greater  cost  for  labor  or  other  expense 
than  is  involved  in  the  operation  of  the  present 
plant.  As  the  development  of  the  business  pro- 
gresses, it  is  expected  to  supply  facilities  for 
applying  the  solvent  process  to  the  cleansing  of 
all  the  wools,  of  whatever  grades,  that  are  used 
in  the  new  combing  establishment.  By  exam- 
ining the  ground  plan  of  the  Arlington  Mills, 
upon  which  the  location  of  the  proposed  new 
solvent  plant  is  indicated,  it  will  be  seen  that  it 
is  situated  so  far  distant  from  the  other  build- 
ings as  to  remove  all  danger  to  any  of  them, 
even  in  the  improbable  event  of  a  fire  or  ex- 
plosion. 

Before  leaving  this  branch  of  our  subject,  it 
54 


will  interest  our  readers  to  refer  to  one  phase  of  the  solvent 

r  .  PROCESS 

it  not  directly  connected  with  the  making  of 
tops  or  yarns,  —  the  saving  of  the  wool  fat  or 
"  suint."  This  grease  is  a  purer  form  of  what 
is  commercially  known  as  "  degras,"  —  a  French 
word  signifying  literally  "  of  fat."  This  par- 
ticular grease  possesses  certain  properties  not 
exactly  duplicated  in  any  other  grease,  which 
render  it  a  valuable  adjunct  in  the  manufacture 
of  leather.  The  grease  of  wool  possesses  also 
exceptionally  valuable  qualities  for  admixture 
with  lubricating  oils,  and  it  is  also  useful  in 
the  preparation  of  oils  commonly  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  woolen  and  worsted  yarns.  Its 
curative  properties  in  its  refined  forms  are  also 
of  undoubted  value  for  medical  purposes. 

It  is  characteristic  of  our  wasteful  methods  of  a  valuable  by- 
manufacturing  in  the  United  States  that  prac- 
tically all  of  the  degras  used  by  our  enormous 
leather  interest,  aggregating  about  15,000,000 
pounds  annually,  is  imported  from  France,  while 
every  year  there  runs  away  in  the  streams  upon 
which  our  woolen  mills-  are  located  something 
like  forty  or  fifty  million  pounds  of  wool  grease, 
—  enough  to  supply  the  world  with  degras.  This 
carries  a  pollution  to  the  water,  which  in  many 
localities  is  very  objectionable,  and  will  sooner 
or  later  lead  to  legislation  prohibiting  it.  In- 
deed, the  extensive  French  industry  in  degras 
55 


the  solvent  is  said  to  have  originally  grown  up  because  of 
legislation  forbidding  the  woolen  mills  to  allow 
their  scourings  to  drain  into  the  streams ;  con- 
sequently they  have  devised  methods  for  saving 
the  grease,  and  have  built  up  a  very  handsome 
trade  out  of  what  was  formerly  a  valueless  by- 
product. In  France,  where  wool  scouring  is 
done  by  the  ordinary  methods,  the  collection 
and  refining  of  the  grease  is  necessarily  a  pecul- 
iarly nasty  process ;  and  in  the  nature  of  things 
the  labor  employed  in  the  industry  is  the  poorest 
and  most  degraded  that  can  be  found  in  that 
country.  We  have  no  counterpart  for  such 
labor  in  this  country,  and  in  consequence  it  has 
never  been  thought  possible  to  preserve  the  wool 
grease  and  extract  the  degras,  in  competition 
with  the  French  product,  even  when  there  has 
been  a  customs  duty  on  the  latter. 

All  this  is  changed  by  the  new  method  of 
cleansing  wool  adopted  at  the  Arlington  Mills. 
In  the  application  of  the  naphtha  to  the  greasy 
wool,  the  grease  collects  itself,  so  to  speak,  by 
the  distillation  from  it  of  the  naphtha  which  is 
to  be  used  over  again  in  the  process  of  cleaning 
a  fresh  supply  of  wool. 

56 


y, 
z 

H 
O 

J 
< 
W 


Magnified  Fibres  of  American  Merino  Wool 
(From.  Dr.  William  McMurtrie's  Report) 


CHAPTER  V 


THE   HYGROSCOPIC   PROPERTY   OF  WOOL 


NE  property  of  all  textile  fibres,  known  what  this  pro- 

.         perty  is 

as    the    hygroscopic    property,    distin- 


guishes wool  more  than  any  other,  and 
now  receives  the  closest  and  most  scientific  atten- 
tion among  foreign  manufacturers.  Thus  far  this 
characteristic  has  been  almost  ignored  in  the 
United  States,  in  the  manufacture  of  wool.  A 
brief  explanation  will  show  how  important  it  is. 
The  wool  fibre  is  capable  of  absorbing  a  large 
57 


THE   HYGRO- 
SCOPIC 
PROPERTY 


Importance  of 
measuring  hy- 
groscopic condi- 
tion 


amount  of  water  without  affecting  its  general 
appearance. 

Exposed  to  a  warm,  dry  atmosphere,  wool  will 
retain  anywhere  from  five  to  ten  per  cent,  of 
moisture ;  if  stored  for  some  time  in  a  cool, 
damp  atmosphere,  it  will  readily  take  up  from 
ten  to  twenty-five  per  cent,  additional  moisture, 
correspondingly  increasing  its  weight.  The  silk 
fibre  possesses  this  property  in  a  marked  but 
lesser  degree ;  and  so  important  a  bearing  has  it 
upon  commercial  transactions  in  so  high  priced  a 
fibre  as  silk  that  it  has  been  found  necessary  to 
establish  no  less  than  thirty-seven  conditioning 
houses,  in  as  many  principal  European  centres 
of  the  silk  industry,  where  the  hygroscopic  con- 
dition of  the  fibre  is  determined  when  bought 
or  sold.  In  wool  transactions,  the  conditioning- 
house  is  a  somewhat  later  development,  but  such 
establishments  now  exist  in  half  a  dozen  differ- 
ent wool  manufacturing  centres  on  the  continent, 
and  in  1888  the  first  wool  conditioning  house  in 
Great  Britain  was  authorized  at  Bradford,  'as  a 
municipal  institution,  under  the  authority  of  an 
act  of  Parliament. 

Chemists  tell  us  that  the  moisture  fills  up  the 
interstices  between  the  cells  of  the  wool  fibre, 
which  under  ordinary  circumstances  contain  air ; 
and  that  it  permeates  also  the  substance  of  which 
these  cells  are  composed.  It  is  evident  enough, 
58 


since  the  quantity  of  moisture  contained  in  a  lot  the  hygro- 

^  J  .  SCOPIC 

of  wool  may  vary  from  five  to  thirty-five  per  property 

cent,  without  any  perceptible  difference  in  ap- 
pearance, that  the  matter  becomes  one  of  great 
importance  in  connection  with  the  buying  and 
selling  of  the  material.  This  is  one  of  many 
reasons  why  wool  buying  is  such  a  difficult  busi- 
ness, and  why  it  is  practically  impossible  to 
determine,  with  exactness,  what  the  scoured  cost 
of  any  lot  of  greasy  wool  is  going  to  be.  One 
may  ascertain  the  shrinkage  with  a  fair  degree 
of  certainty;  but  the  hygroscopic  condition  of 
the  wool,  at  the  time  of  purchase,  is  beyond 
ascertainment  by  any  facilities  within  ordinary 
reach  in  this  country.  Every  purchaser  takes 
his  chances  as  to  the  quantity  of  water  he  is  pay- 
ing for,  with  every  pound  of  wool  he  buys,  be- 
cause the  amount  of  moisture  in  the  unwashed 
wool  is  dependent  not  only  on  the  absorbing 
capacity  of  the  clean  wool,  but  also  on  the  ab- 
sorbing capacity  of  the  potash  soaps  and  other 
salts  contained  in  the  yolk.  In  washed  wools  The  moisture 
other  considerations  enter ;  the  wool  which  has 
the  least  tenacity,  that  is,  in  which  the  cells  are 
more  loosely  arranged,  possessing  the  greatest 
hygroscopicity.  In  consequence  of  all  these  vari- 
ations, wool  is  sold  more  or  less  on  the  continent 
after  an  official  "  conditioning,"  which  deter- 
mines the  exact  amount  of  moisture  in  any  lot. 
59 


THE  HYGRO- 
SCOPIC 
PROPERTY 


The  Roubaix 
conditioning 
house 


Percentages  of 
regain 


Cost  of  condi- 
tioning 


A  general  description  of  the  methods  adopted 
in  the  continental  conditioning  houses  is  given 
in  the  Report  of  the  Royal  Commission  on  Tech- 
nical Education,  from  which  we  make  the  fol- 
lowing quotation  :  — 

"  The  conditioning  house  of  Roubaix,  like  the 
similar  establishments  of  Lyons  and  Crefeld,  un- 
dertakes the  testing  of  all  raw  materials  and  man- 
ufactured goods,  with  regard  to  actual  weight, 
measurement,  and  condition.  Certain  standards 
of  condition  are  recognized  in  various  materials, 
upon  which  allowances  are  made  for  the  moist- 
ure which  they  contain.  For  example,  in  condi- 
tioning raw  wool  a  given  weight  is  placed  in  a 
receiver,  through  which  passes  a  current  of  hot 
air  at  a  temperature  of  from  105°  to  115°  Centi- 
grade. After  remaining  here  for  about  an  hour, 
the  wool  is  carefully  weighed,  and  14  per  cent, 
is  added  to  the  weight  to  allow  for  its  hav- 
ing been  artificially  dried,  and  to  restore  it  to 
its  natural  atmospheric  condition.  Upon  tops, 
after  being  artificially  dried,  an  allowance -of  18^ 
per  cent,  is  made ;  upon  wool  yarns,  17  per  cent. ; 
cotton  yarns,  81-  per  cent. ;  silk,  11  per  cent. 

"  The  cost  of  conditioning  tops  is  reckoned  on 
the  bulk  from  which  samples  are  taken,  and  is 
about  10  francs  per  1,000  kilos  (about  one 
eleventh  of  a  cent  per  pound). 

"  The  house  was  built  by  the  town  at  a  cost  of 
60 


£16,000.     It  communicates  with  the  railway  by  the  hygro- 

SCOPIC 

a  siding,  so  as  to  facilitate  the  arrival  and  trans-  property 
port  of  products  to  be  tested.     In  1883  the  pro- 
fits, after  paying  expenses,  amounted  to  £8,000, 
which  were  entered  in  the  municipal  receipts  and 
appropriated  to  ordinary  municipal  objects. 

"  A  conception  of  the  magnitude  of  the  work 
carried  on  may  be  gathered  from  the  following- 
figures,  relating  to  the  quantities  of  wool,  tops, 
yarn,  etc.,  conditioned :  — 

In  1858 84,268  kilos. 

In  1860 1,998,159      " 

In  1869 11,653,156      " 

-  In  1871 14,093,867      " 

In  1882 19,425,434      " 

"  The  conditioning  is  entirely  optional.  If 
buyer  and  seller  agree  to  any  transaction  with- 
out submitting  to  the  official  test  and  the  neces- 
sary expense,  they  can  do  so ;  but,  as  almost  in-  Conditioning 

.    ,  ,       ,  -ii  ii  •  invariably  done 

variably  happens,  either  buyer  or  seller  wishes 
to  know  ivhat  he  buys  or  sells,  the  goods  are 
tested,  and  in  case  of  dispute  both  parties  are 
bound  to  accept  the  official  decision." 

This  book  is  not  a  scientific  treatise,  and 
therefore  we  shall  enter  into  no  more  detailed 
description  of  the  manner  in  which  conditioning 
is  done.  On  the  continent,  as  we  have  seen 
above,  the  legal  amount  of  moisture  allowed  is 
14  per  cent,  on  wool,  18^  per  cent,  on  tops,  and 
61 


THE  HYGRO- 
SCOPIC 
PROPERTY 

Standard  allow- 
ances for 
regain 


Importance  of 
condition 


17  per  cent,  on  wool  yarns.  In  Great  Britain 
the  standard  allowance  for  regain  on  wool  is  16 
per  cent.  This  standard  has  been  determined 
by  scientific  verifications,  based  upon  the  average 
hygroscopic  conditions  of  the  atmosphere  in  the 
North  of  England  during  a  year,  thus  deter- 
mining how  much  moisture  the  absolutely  dry 
material  will  regain  by  exposure  to  the  open  air. 
Whoever  buys  wool  by  this  test  always  pays  for 
the  same  percentage  of  moisture,  no  matter  what 
may  chance  to  be  the  actual  hygroscopic  condi- 
tion of  the  wool  at  the  moment  of  delivery. 

Wool  conditioning  houses  are  obviously  im- 
practicable in  the  United  States,  at  least  for  a 
long  time  to  come.  Whoever  will  recall  the 
manner  in  which  wool  is  bought  and  sold  here 
will  realize  why  this  must  be  so.  In  every  other 
great  manufacturing  nation,  the  supplies  of  wool 
are  concentrated  in  a  few  markets,  and  bought 
and  sold  under  fixed  and  uniform  rules.  Here 
domestic  wool  is  picked  up  in  lots  all  over  the 
country,  and  every  buyer  depends  upon  his  own 
judgment  as  to  both  quality  and  condition. 

But  such  haphazard  methods  are  not  necessary 
in  the  sale  of  tops  and  rovings  ;  nor  indeed  would 
it  be  possible  to  build  up  a  large  business  in 
them  without  some  definite  measure  of  the  mois- 
ture they  contain.  The  factor  is  of  sufficient 
importance  to  make  all  the  difference  between 
62 


buying  at  a  profit  and  buying  at  a  loss.     End-  the  hygro- 

J        .  .  .  .  SCOPIC 

less  difficulties  have  arisen,  in  consequence  of  property 
this  variation  in  moisture,  between  the  buyers  of 
imported  yarns  and  those  with  whom  they  deal 
on  the  other  side.  Ordinarily,  the  difference 
is  against  the  American  purchaser,  because  there 
is  less  humidity  in  the  atmosphere  here  than 
in  Yorkshire.  Claims  for  underweight,  on  ac- 
count of  this  difference,  have  frequently  been 
sufficient  to  destroy  all  profit  to  the  foreigner  in 
the  transaction.  Indeed,  the  Bradford  people 
were  fairly  driven  into  the  establishment  of  their 
conditioning  house  by  the  loss  of  trade  which 
resulted  from  their  inability  to  accompany  sales 
of  yarn  with  a  certificate.  The  Report  of  the 
Royal  Commission  explains  how  this  operated, 
as  follows :  — 

"  Complaints  were  made  by  continental  man-  Necessity  for 

„  i  t»       -i  •  i  i  i  knowing  condi- 

uiacturers  that  English  yarns  when  they  came  tion 
to  Roubaix  were  not  conditioned,  nor  tested  as 
to  length,  and  that  the  English  spinners  would 
not  submit  to  the  Roubaix  test.  One  gentleman 
stated  that  he  had  been  subjected  to  so  much 
annoyance  in  consequence  of  English  yarns  not 
coming  up  to  the  standard  that  he  never  bought 
them  when  he  could  get  similar  yarns  elsewhere. 
He  agreed  that  everybody  took  advantage  of 
yarns  that  were  known  not  to  be  certified.  If, 
for  instance,  he  sent  English  yarn  to  a  dyer,  and 
63 


THE  HYGRO- 
SCOPIC 
PROPERTY 


Standard  for 
regain  at  the 
Arlington  Mills 


deficient  weight  was  returned,  all  the  blame  was 
thrown  upon  the  spinner,  the  dyer  knowing  that 
no  certificate  of  weight  had  accompanied  the 
yarn.  In  sending  English  yarn  to  hand-loom 
weavers,  he  calculated  the  necessary  weight  and 
counts  for  certain  lengths  of  cloth.  Frequently 
short  lengths  were  returned,  and  the  weaver 
would  invariably  throw  all  the  responsibility 
upon  the  spinner,  knowing  there  was  no  proof 
to  the  contrary.  With  French  and  German 
yarns  this  was  impossible,  and  therefore  the 
manufacturer  argued  that  a  conditioning  and 
reeling  test  protected  the  seller  as  much  as  the 
buyer,  and  removed  the  temptations  to  dis- 
honesty which  exist  under  the  English  sys- 
tem." 

Conditions  of  humidity  are  not  uniform  in 
the  United  States,  nor  the  same  at  all  seasons. 
Without  some  standard  of  hygroscopic  condi- 
tion, it  is  evident  that  an  element  of  uncertainty 
as  to  weight  must  always  exist  in  domestic  trans- 
actions, as  it  otherwise  would  in  foreign  and 
international  transactions. 

It  is  a  part  of  the  purpose  of  the  Arlington 
Mills,  in  establishing  this  new  enterprise,  to 
establish  at  the  same  time  a  hygroscopic  stand- 
ard upon  which  all  its  business  may  be  based. 
Indeed,  the  Mills  have  long  been  selling  both 
tops  and  yarns  on  the  basis  of  a  fixed  allowance 
64 


for  regain,  and  the  system  has  proved  entirely  the  hygro- 
satisfactory  to  its  customers.  property 

Much  experimentation  has  accompanied  the 
determination  of  the  exact  allowance  for  regain 
which  should  be  accepted  in  the  United  States. 
As  we  have  already  said,  the  allowance  on  the 
continent  is  14  per  cent,  for  wool  and  in  England 
16  per  cent.,  while  the  difference  between  the 
atmospheric  conditions,  here  and  in  England, 
averages  about  one  per  cent.  The  allowance 
for  regain  in  tops,  at  the  Bradford  conditioning 
house,  is  19  per  cent,  when  combed  with  oil,  and 
18.25  per  cent,  when  combed  without  oil.1 

1  Mr.  Walter  Townend,  manager  of  the  Bradford  condi- 
tioning' house,  writes  as  follows  on  this  point :  — 

"  I  can  quite  understand  the  anomaly  of  18j  per  cent,  and 
19  per  cent,  regain  in  tops  for  moisture  being  confusing  and 
vague.  The  explanation  is  that  18g-  per  cent,  is  the  true  regain 
allowable  on  combed  wool  tops  on  the  continent  (combed  with- 
out oil).  But  from  a  long  date  back,  tops  combed  with  oil 
and  made  in  the  Bradford  District  have  had  a  '  Trade  Cus- 
tom '  allowance  of  19  per  cent,  (or  equal  to  2  gr.  8  dr.  per  lb. 
nearly)  for  moisture.  It  was  thought  advisable  by  the  author- 
ities to  continue  the  19  per  cent,  for  local  trade  in  tops  combed 
with  oil. 

"  The  great  bulk  of  exported  tops  are  combed  without  oil, 
and  the  regain  allowance  is  invariably  18^  per  cent.,  the  same 
as  continental  tops. 

"  Yarns  here  as  on  the  continent  bear  a  regain  (officially)  of 
18j  per  cent.    Of  course,  all  these  regains  refer  to  moisture  only. 

"  As  to  oil,  grease,  or  fatty  matters  and  insolubles  (machin- 
ery dirt) ,  there  is  no  '  official  standard ;  '  and  although  we  give 
official  tests  of  the  amount  contained  in  either  piece  goods, 

65 


THE  HYGRO- 
SCOPIC 
PROPERTY 


Experiments  to 
determine  a 
standard 


The  experiments  conducted  at  the  Arlington 
Mills  to  establish  the  true  percentage  of  regain 
for  this  country  have  possessed  a  good  deal  of 
scientific  interest,  and  have  been  conducted  by 
men  thoroughly  competent  to  reach  exact  re- 
sults, aided  by  the  most  perfect  apparatus. 

In  order  that  our  readers  may  fully  under- 
stand the  conclusions  established  by  these  exper- 
iments, we  will  describe  them  somewhat  in  detail, 
accompanying  our  account  of  them  with  dia- 
grams illustrating  the  results  of  the  experiments. 

During  the  year  from  the  first  of  May,  1895, 
to  the  following  first  of  May,  Mr.  William  D. 
Hartshorne,  the  superintendent  of  the  worsted 
department  of  the  Arlington  Mills,  had  accurate 
weighings  taken,  ten  times  a  day,  at  approxi- 
mately the  same  hours,  for  every  day  in  the  year 
except  Sundays  and  holidays,  of  a  certain  skein 
of  worsted  yarn  (the  same  skein  throughout  the 
year).  This  yarn  was  left  exposed  in  an  open 
shed  where  no   artificial   heat   ever    came,  and 


yarns,  or  tops,  it  is  for  the  buyer  to  decide  or  to  arrange  with 
the  seller  what  limit  must  not  he  exceeded.  Bradford  combed 
tops  (in  oil)  and  worsted  yarns  (in  oil)  vary  according  to  the 
makers  from  3  per  cent,  to  5  per  cent,  oil,  etc.  Some  prefer 
more  or  less  according  to  the  nature  of  the  wool,  be  it  hard  or 
soft  to  handle.  Soft,  silky  wools  naturally  require  less  oil. 
"  Always  at  your  service,  I  am,  gentlemen, 
"  Yours  truly, 

"Walter  Townend,  Manager." 
66 


«     ° 

to 

ame 
day 
one 

s  of 

ihed 
ex- 

the 

»TS 

I 

\ 

1 

'"°°6      gi° 

1 

*- 

-c  u-a  g      p,i  " 

s     ^ 

~  S.2  2      °  '  So 

-*  . 

TH 

_ 

^~£M    Sll 

^ 

- 

2   S   <«   2        -S  T3   ° 

„ 

- 

o 

z 

o       1 

- 

2 

< 

ge  wf 

for  di 

day, 

'eight 

ere  m 
:  wind 
out-d 

/  ° 

- 

cc 

a  E  «  >        >  22_ 

/    1~l 

03 

o 

the  ave 
sted  ya 
■vations 
unit  of 
ry  yarn 
vations 
from  t 
;  norm; 

' 

§ 

< 

2    / 

Z. 

Ph' 

a 

°V 

- 

dng 
f  wor 
obsei 
The 
ely  d 
abser 
:cted 
:o  th: 
here. 

/    ° 

N_ 

p  o  ~      3  „,  ■£      a, 

O  _  0      J=  u  p-Ti  m 

to'«J.««HB'«S 

M i/ 

^   0   OJ-Q               O  £3 

^ 

M— 

^z 

S 

d 
o 

£2  — 

o 

"/ 

£ 

Vh 

/        rt 

o            / 

«--[ 

O    / 

AV   f- 

.5/    "-1 

oV    " 

S— 

o        / 

05  •/-! 

/CO 

- 

3' 

/   ~ 

o 

«i 

"    / 

_ 

001  a 

Too 

rt 

•o 

£--1 

LGO 

1-1 

t— 

s 

s 

J- 

jo 

f  i 

1    1    1    I    1    1    1    1    1    1    1    1    1    1   1 

1   1  1   1   1  1   i 

i    1    i    i    I    i 

f 

SJ.H0I3M    JO 

aivos 

from  which  wind,  sun,  and  rain  were  excluded,  the  hygro- 

'  '  .        SCOPIC 

but  which  was  otherwise  exposed  to  the  outside  property 

influence  of  the  atmosphere. 

The  great  variations  observed  in  the  weight  Description  of 

°  "        the  curve  dia- 

of  this  skein  of  yarn  were  remarkable.  The  grams 
moisture  it  contained  ranged  from  a  little  over 
7  per  cent,  to  as  high  as  35  per  cent,  of  its  total 
weight,  often  with  a  variation  of  from  fifteen 
to  twenty  per  cent,  in  twenty-four  hours.  For 
the  purpose  of  discovering  the  law  of  variation, 
if  there  was  a  simple  one,  all  the  observations 
for  each  particular  hour  were  arranged  together 
so  that  a  curve  could  be  plotted,  representing 
what  might  be  called  the  average  curve  of 
change.  This  curve  is  represented  in  the  ac-  Diagram  1 
companying  diagram  marked  No.  1.  In  this 
diagram,  the  figures  above  the  line,  7.10,  8.15, 
etc.,  show  the  hours  of  the  day  at  which  the 
observations  were  taken.  The  figures  below  the 
line,  118.55,  1I8.53,  etc.,  show  the  average  of  the 
weighings,  on  the  basis  of  one  hundred  parts, 
absolutely  dry,  of  this  skein  at  these  represented 
hours.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  early  morning 
hours  are  the  time  when  the  absorbing  capacity 
of  the  yarn  was  greatest,  or,  rather,  when  the 
amount  of  the  moisture  it  could  obtain  from 
the  atmosphere  was  the  greatest.  Between  the 
hours  of  three  and  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
the  amount  of  moisture  absorbed  was  the  least, 
67 


THE  HYGRO- 
SCOPIC 
PROPERTY 


Diagram  2 


Diagram  3 


and  the  difference  in  the  amount  absorbed,  at 
the  two  periods  of  time,  was  for  the  average 
about  two  per  cent.  The  lines  which  could  be 
plotted  for  each  day  in  the  year  would,  of 
course,  differ  very  widely  at  points  from  this 
average  line,  varying  according  to  the  temporary 
variations  in  the  condition  of  the  atmosphere. 

Diagram  No.  2  shows  the  line  of  curve  for  the 
first  day  of  August,  and  it  is  approximately  in 
accord  with  the  average  line  for  the  whole  year, 
but  showing  nevertheless  the  natural  variations 
from  the  average  curve. 

The  third  diagram,  plotted  on  a  slightly 
smaller  scale  to  allow  for  two  days  to  be  shown 
together,  indicates  the  great  variation  which 
took  place  in  the  weight  of  the  skein  of  yarn 
between  October  31  and  November  1.  Starting 
at  1152  at  7.10  in  the  morning  of  the  first  day 
and  reaching  118  at  5.45  in  the  afternoon  of  the 
same  day,  the  increase  in  moisture  continued 
through  the  night,  as  may  be  represented  by  the 
dotted  line,  until,  at  7.10  on  the  morning,  of  the 
next  day,  the  skein  obtained  the  weight  of  126 
parts,  falling  gradually  from  that  point,  until  it 
reached  116  at  the  close  of  the  day.  These  two 
days  are  chosen  for  representation  by  diagrams 
because  they  show  a  variation  which,  while  rapid, 
was  not  unusual  nor  extreme  when  compared 
with  many  other  days  throughout  the  year. 
68 


to 

o\° 

1~*    \ 

sk 

in 

«/  "* 

o 

. 

00 

„ 

■*  — 

<N 

J 

to  / 

_ 

d 

3 

I  m 

-_ 

Z 

OB 

3 

- 

ij 

2 

■< 

CO 

< 

o 

CE 

UM 

CO    1 

— 

o 

.3 

*"Y» 

_ 

< 

_M 

/    ^ 

„ 

o 

o 

4) 

eo 

-_ 

3 

">  / 

$ 

J 

CO    / 

7 

/    ^ 
J>     / 

/  °° 
00    / 

o 

o 
o 

rn 

s                           5 

i    I    i    1    i    i    i    i    1    i    i    i    i    !    i    i 

f 

1 

,      1      , 

,  1  ,  ,  , 

T 

SXHDI3M  do  anvos 

Simultaneously  with  the  taking  of  the  obser-  the  hygro- 
J  °  .  SCOPIC 

vations  above  described,  humidity  observations  property 

were  also  made  at  the  Arlington  Mills,  by  means 

of  the  wet  and  dry  bulb  thermometers,  in  the  Humidity  ob- 

usual   manner,  and   a   record  was  kept  of  the 

so-called  relative  humidity  of  the  atmosphere  at 

the  time  of  each  observation,  except  at  certain 

periods   of   extremely   cold   weather,  when    the 

difference    of   readings   between    thermometers 

was  not  sufficient  to  determine  the  amount  of 

the  humidity.     These    humidity  rates  and   the 

corresponding   temperatures  were   averaged   in 

the  same  manner  as  the  weights  of  the  skein  of 

yarn,  for  the  respective  hours  of  observation. 

Diagram  No.  4,  based  upon  these  averages,  Diagram  z 
shows  the  temperature  curve  and  the  humidity 
curve  in  comparison  with  the  weight  curve. 
The  weight  curve  here  given  differs  slightly 
from  that  shown  in  diagram  No.  1,  owing  to  the 
omission  from  it  of  several  weeks  of  time,  during 
which  the  humidity  observations  could  not  be 
applied.     In  all  other  respects  it  is  the  same. 

The  relationship  between  the  weight  curve  Weight,  humid- 
and  the  humidity  curve  is  instantly  perceptible,  temperature 
That  is  to  say,  the  weight  curve  is  highest  at 
that  portion  of  the  day  when  the  humidity  curve 
is  the  highest.  There  is  also  a  relationship 
between  the  temperature  curve  and  the  weight 
curve,  in  that  the  highest  point  of  the  weight 
69 


THE  HYGRO- 
SCOPIC 
PROPERTY 


Allowance  for 
regain 


curve  corresponds  to  the  lowest  temperature. 
Through  the  day,  until  about  one  o'clock,  the 
humidity  and  weight  curves  fall  rapidly  and  the 
temperature  rises,  but  after  that  hour,  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  the  humidity  begins  to 
rise  again,  the  weight  curve  continues  to  fall  so 
long  as  the  temperature  continues  to  rise,  or 
until  about  3.30  p.  M.  The  fall  of  temperature 
and  continued  rise  of  humidity  from  that  period 
through  the  night  result  in  bringing  back  the 
skein  weight  to  the  starting-point  of  the  morning. 

That  there  is  a  scientific  relationship  between 
these  three  elements  is  sufficiently  determined 
by  the  experiments  whose  results  are  recorded 
in  these  diagrams.  To  state  that  relationship  in 
an  exact  scientific  formula  may,  however,  be 
impossible ;  and  it  is  altogether  probable  that 
the  height  of  the  barometer  has  an  important 
relationship  to  the  problem. 

But  the  investigations  sufficiently  determine 
the  fact  that  the  average  exterior  condition  in 
this  country,  or  at  least  for  the  particular  skein 
experimented  with  in  the  city  of  Lawrence,  is 
a  little  lower,  in  respect  to  moisture,  than  the 
recognized  standard  in  England  and  on  the 
continent :  that  is  to  say,  it  appears  to  be  about 
17|-  per  cent,  instead  of  18^.  As  the  establish- 
ment of  a  standard  allowance,  as  a  basis  for 
buying  and  selling,  was  of  more  importance  than 
70 


u 

CO 

I-            Z^ 

H       /    ■* 

i-l -/      lO                  »rt  — 

Ci 

<o        T"V^ — 

^                    ■*— 

«- 

» 

fU 

1H/      OJ 

G>* 

d 

Of 

o 

o 

ex  ^^-~^ 

£j 

a- 

^ 

si 

*- 

<$/<? 

en  — 

£ 

\  XT 

•■: 

5 
O 

z 

\ 

m— 

\ 

-- 

o 

■X        o 

0        i1 

V%               , 

CO  — 

a" 

>  ^->  -=• 

\    § 

PM 

'«      *    rt 

~^io 

o  — 

OD 

S-C                              in— 

™ 

.  M  «  a    . 

1-1 

EC*^-— — ^             "*  — 

5 

°    o  ■£    g  i2 

2       £     r!    "C     nl 

3   191? 

osg      m  ~ 

m 

AGRAM 

eights  for  T 
cord  thiougl 
e  1-4  and  ho 
the  other  ch; 

ion  - 

i9ir 

9  SI 

siS     «- 

oil     «- 

o 
h- 

fl° 

o 
o 

o    S    ° 

ssir/os0i0^ 

o^g'J 

mLe  2- 

a 

h  ~-s  s 

ssrtW  ai 

< 

d      >  § 

iSllhil,  _.! 

■S 

1,1,1,1 

,    1    ,    !    . 

1,1.1,1 

,    !    ,    1    i    1 

S-LH0I3M 

JO    31VDS 

the  actual  amount  of  the  allowance  established,  the  hygro- 
scopic 
the  Arlington  Mills  had  already  accepted  the  property 

popular  idea  that  the  rate  for  this  country  was 
naturally  less  than  for  England  and  the  conti- 
nent ;  and  to  be  conservative,  had  placed  it  at 
15  per  cent.  This  rate  has  since  been  adopted 
by  several  other  manufacturers. 

In  connection  with  this  question  of  the  hygro-  Humidity  condi- 

c  1,1         ■     •  ,  i  l         i      tions  in  the 

scopic  property  ot  wool,  there  is  another  closely  United  states 
related,  which  has  a  bearing  upon  the  ability  of 
American  yarn  spinners  to  produce  satisfactory 
worsted  yarns,  and  some  remarks  concerning 
which  may  not  be  out  of  place  in  concluding 
this  chapter.  It  has  to  do  with  the  general 
question  of  atmospheric  conditions,  in  their 
bearing  upon  worsted  yarn  spinning. 

In  1885  there  was  a  Royal  Commission  ap- 
pointed in  Great  Britain  to  inquire  into  the 
depression  of  trade  and  industry  in  the  United 
Kingdom,  which  at  that  time  was  keenly  felt  in 
all  lines  of  enterprise.  Many  expert  witnesses 
were  called  before  this  Commission,  among  the 
number,  Mr.,  now  Sir  Henry, .  Mitchell,  one  of  sir  Henry 

Mitchell 

the  largest  and  most  successful  ot  the  .Bradford  quoted 
manufacturers  and  merchants.     In  the  course  of 
his  testimony,  Mr.  Mitchell  made  the  following 
statement :  — 

"  I  do  not  think  the  Americans  will  ever  be 
able  to  make  yarns  so  good  as  we  can  in  this 
71 


THE  HYGRO- 
SCOPIC 
PROPERTY 


An  exploded 
theory 


country.  The  climate  of  the  United  States  is 
very  unfavorable  for  the  spinning  of  worsted 
yarns.  The  very  great  changes  that  take  place, 
the  intense  heat  in  summer  and  the  intense  cold 
in  winter,  are  very  unfavorable  to  the  spinning 
of  worsted  yarns  ;  a  moist  climate  is  more  suit- 
able for  them.  This  does  not  apply  to  the  same 
extent  in  Germany.  I  think  it  likely  that  Ger- 
many in  time  will  be  able  to  supply  their  own 
manufacturers  with  those  yarns." 

This  statement  is  based  upon  a  theory  which 
prevailed  very  generally  up  to  a  comparatively 
few  years  ago,  and  which,  until  science  had 
overcome  the  difficulties  alluded  to,  was  abun- 
dantly well  founded.  It  accounts  in  very  large 
measure  for  the  extraordinary  concentration  of 
the  cotton  spinning  industry  in  Lancashire, 
England.  Some  one  has  said  that  that  little 
corner  of  the  island  is  the  moistest  spot  in  the 
world.  Yorkshire,  where  three  fourths  of  the 
wool  worked  up  in  Great  Britain  is  manufac- 
tured, is  only  less  moist  than  Lancashire,  The 
supposed  greater  humidity  of  the  atmosphere  at 
points  like  Fall  River  and  New  Bedford  was 
among  the  reasons  which  led  to  the  unusual 
concentration  of  the  domestic  cotton  manufac- 
ture at  those  points.  It  goes  without  saying, 
however,  that  the  interior  condition  of  mill 
buildings,  unless  artificially  maintained  at  a 
72 


s   ? 

.     s     t 

8      £      2 

AxiaiwnH  jo  3ivos 

g 

0   g 

1  ' 

6 

z. 

< 
cc 
a 

< 

Q 

^                                                      Showing  for  the  same  times  of  day,  the  aver- 
age weights  of  the  same  skein  of  yarn,  the  aver-                        _ 
775                                            age  humidity  and  average  temperature  for  ten 
\                                               observations  a  day  for  a  period  of  nearly  one 

year, 

Humidity  observations  not   recorded  for  a 
short  time,  and  this  period  is  not  included  on 
this  chart. 
745 

1  J.    '  k   '   J.   '   Jh  '    '    '  J>   '  J,  ' 

aanxV83dW3L   dO   31V0S 

i-    10 

0 

i '  .A 

a 

0 
o 

1 

10 

e 

u 

vv         \ 

10  ^ 

S  '              \ 

\%           J  / 

0 

8 

00 

■$>  \      /  / 

3  - 

/                                        \  *>• 

Z                 ■                        Y* 

0   _ 

00                                          \ 

\  » 

0   _ 

00 

00  - 

CO 

t- 

o 

1  1  , 

,    1    1   1   1 

00 

,  ,1 ,  I  I  ,  1 

3                     3 

1 ,  > 

IN   t-, 

S1H0I3M  dO   31V0S 

uniform  state  of  moisture,  will  differ  very  mate-  the  hygro- 

•  T   ■  -11      SC0PIG 

rially  from  the  exterior  conditions,  particularly  property 
in  the  winter  time.  The  cold  weather  of  winter 
freezes  out,  so  to  speak,  the  moisture  of  the  at- 
mosphere, and  although  the  relative  humidity 
may  be  large  out  of  doors,  the  absolute  amount 
of  moisture  in  a  cubic  foot  of  air  is  very  much 
less,  and  when  this  air  comes  within  a  room 
and  is  heated  up  to  a  comfortable  temperature, 
the  relative  amount  of  moisture  is  very  much 
below  the  normal,  creating  the  condition  of  high 
temperature  and  low  humidity,  which  is  very 
detrimental  to  the  successful  spinning  of  either 
cotton  or  worsted  yarns. 

It  was  this  fact  which  led  Sir  Henry  Mitchell  Artificial  immid- 

.  ification. 

to  state,  twenty  years  ago,  that  the  Americans 
would  never  be  able  to  make  as  good  worsted 
yarns  as  are  made  in  Great  Britain.  But  he 
overlooked,  in  his  diagnosis  of  the  situation,  the 
power  of  science  and  invention  to  overcome  nat- 
ural conditions.  The  difficulties  alluded  to  were 
of  a  kind  which  long  ago  called  for  a  scientific 
solution,  which  has  been  found  and  applied  in 
the  shape  of  humidifiers,  which  enable  those  in 
charge  of  a  mill  to  regulate  the  moisture  in  a 
room  to  that  fraction  of  the  degree  which  is 
found  in  practical  experience  to  be  the  best 
adapted  to  the  production  of  given  results. 
This  is  secured  at  the  Arlington  Mills  by  the 
73 


the  hygro-  direct  weighing,  upon  an  automatic  balance,  of 

SCOPIC 

property  the  absorbing  capacity  of  the  particular  material 
which  is  in  process,  and  the  regulation  of  the 
humidity  of  each  room  accordingly. 

Intelligent  readers  do  not  need  to  be  told 
that  a  status  of  humidity  which  can  be  main- 
tained continuously  at  the  exact  point  which  is 
found  to  be  most  desirable,  is  far  preferable  to 
one  which  is  dependent  upon  outside  atmos- 
pheric conditions,  varying,  as  these  latter  must, 
from  day  to  day  and  week  to  week.  In  other 
words,  better  and  more  uniform  results  can  be 
secured  by  artificial  means  than  are  possible  in 
a  mill  room,  whether  located  in  Lancashire  or 
Fall  River,  where  nature  is  left  to  determine 
the  matter  at  her  own  sweet  will.  In  evidence 
of  this  is  the  fact  that  the  best  mills  at  Man- 
chester and  Bradford,  like  those  of  our  own 
country,  now  regulate  the  humidity  of  their 
spinning-rooms  by  artificial  means. 

If  Sir  Henry  Mitchell  were  given  an  oppor- 
tunity to  revise  his  testimony  of  1885,  he  would 
drop  from  it  the  paragraph  we  have  quoted 
above  and  rejoice  at  the  chance.  We  can  and 
do  spin  in  the  United  States  just  as  good  worsted 
yarns  as  can  be  spun  anywhere  in  the  world. 


Note. — In  order  that  readers  interested  in  this  ques- 
tion from  a  scientific  point  of  view  niay  possess  fuller 

74 


data  regarding  these  interesting  experiments  than  is  given  the  hygro- 
in  the  text,  we  annex  an 
moisture  by  months  :  — 


in  the  text,  we  annex  an  analysis  of  the  observations  for  property 


AVERAGE   OF  ALL  OBSERVATIONS  FOR  MOISTURE. 


May, 

June, 

July, 

August, 

September, 

October, 

November, 

December, 

January, 

February, 

March, 

April, 


1895        = 


1806        = 


I486  % 

16" 

1805 

1731 

1729 

17«  %  for  year 

1676 

.     as     averaged 

1928 

by  the  month. 

1740 

I721 

1721 

1415 

ANALYSIS   OF  OBSERVATIONS. 


May 

June 

July 

August 

September. 
October. .  . . 
November  . 
December  . 

January 

February . . 

March 

April 


Lowest 
Day. 


1160 

10"  1 
I495 
14« 
12io 

1361 

15-"!l 
15« 
1354 

1279 
H«3 


17th 

19th 

25th 
9th 
24th 

18th 
22d 
27th 
4th 
25th 
27th 
30th 


Highest 
Day. 


% 
2ieoj27th 

2592  29th 
2396,17th 
2200 13th 


2327 
227i 

31" 
3070 

34=c 
2902 

27s" 
2  ISO 


11th 
8th 

26th 
2d 

25th 
6th 
2d 
2d 


Lowest 
Obser- 
vation. 


17th 

14th 
3d 
21st 
24th 
18th 
4th 
27th 
29th 
25th 
27th 
30th 


Highest 
Observa- 
tion. 


(   6th 

<  and 

(27th 

2Sth 

1st 

13th 

26th 

14th 

26th 

2d 

25th 

6th 

20th 

'  2d 


Greatest  Differ- 
ence in  24  hrs. 


% 


6th  to    7th 


5th  to 

1st  to 

7th  to 

26th  to 

28th  to 

26th  to 

2d   to 

24th  to 

6th  to 

30th  to 

1st  to 


6th 
2d 
8th 
27th 
29th 
27th 
3d 
25th 
7th 
31st 
2d 


General  average  (by  the  month)  for  the  year,  1745  %. 

Lowest  average  period,  April,  '96,  1415,  and  May,  '95,  1486  %. 

Highest  average  period,  November,  '95,  2202,  and  December,  '95,  1928  %. 

Lowest  observation,  April  30th,  '96,  73  %. 

Highest  observation,  November  26th,  '95,  351  %. 

75 


THE  HYGRO- 
SCOPIC 
PROPERTY 


The  greatest  variation  in  24  hours  occurred  between 
the  26th  and  27th  of  November,  '95,  and  was  191.  A 
still  greater  rate  of  variation  was  shown  on  March  20, 
the  observation  showing  288  %  at  7.10  A.  M.,  and  134  %  at 
5.45  P.  M.,  a  difference  of  15.4  %  in  ten  hours. 


e!fc> 


Egyptian  Weavebs  at  a  Vertical  Loom 
(From  the  Tombs  of  Beni  Husaan,  Thebes,  as  found  by  Menutoli) 


CHAPTER   VI 


HOW   TOPS   WILL    BE    SOLD 


A  VINGr  described  the  hygroscopic  pro-  How  the  stand- 

ill  i  ar<*  *s  aPPlied 

perty  ot  wool,  and  the  methods  adopted 
to  establish  a  hygroscopic  standard  for 
the  United  States,  it  now  becomes  necessary  to 
explain  how  this  standard  is  applied,  in  the  sell- 
ing of  tops  at  the  Arlington  Mills. 

The  greatest  care  has  been  exercised  in  deter- 
mining this  standard,  to  fix  upon  that  one  which 
will  prove  the  most  acceptable  to  all  manufac- 
turers and  dealers,  in  the  expectation  that  it  may 
77 


HOW  TOPS 
WILL  BE 
SOLD 


Why  private 
initiative  is 
necessary 


eventually  come  to  be  a  generally  recognized 
standard.  The  managers  of  the  Arlington  Mills 
are  not  alone  in  the  conviction  that  it  is  a  loose 
and  unbusinesslike  method  of  carrying  on  busi- 
ness, to  ignore  considerations  of  this  character, 
which  bear  so  intimate  a  relation  to  the  profit 
or  loss  of  the  transaction.  It  seems  more  than 
likely  that  within  a  comparatively  short  time 
the  practice  of  making  proper  allowance  for 
regain  will  become  general  in  this  country ;  and 
if  the  Arlington  Mills  shall  succeed  in  promot- 
ing this  simple  and  sensible  reform,  it  will  have 
achieved  something  for  the  wool  manufacturing 
interests  of  which  it  can  be  proud. 

In  the  mean  while,  the  conditioning  of  tops 
and  yarns  must  necessarily  stand  on  a  different 
basis  at  the  Arlington  Mills  from  the  one  it 
occupies  in  other  countries.  As  already  said, 
the  foreign  conditioning  houses  are  legalized  by 
statute,  and  the  certificate  of  the  conditioning 
officer  is  binding,  in  all  transactions,  and  con- 
clusive, in  case  of  any  dispute.  The  Bradford 
conditioning  house  is  owned  and  operated  by 
the  municipality,  and  all  certificates  granted  are 
legal  evidence  in  courts  of  law. 

In  the  absence  of    any  legalized  institution 

here,  the  Arlington  Mills  is  under  the  necessity 

of  establishing  its  own  conditioning  house,  and 

certificates  of  condition  will  accompany  invoices, 

78 


"V 


-*W\  • 


THE   ALPACA,   PERU 


without  charge  to  the  customer.     All  shipments  how  tops 

.-ii      WILL  BB 
of  tops  made  therefrom  will  be  accompanied  by  sold 

the  certificate  of  the  person  charged  with  this 
duty,  and  all  prices  will  be  based  upon  an  allow- 
ance of  15  per  cent,  regain ;  goods  will  be  sold 
upon  this  basis,  no  matter  what  may  be  their 
exact  hygroscopic  condition  on  the  exact  day 
and  hour  of  shipment.  This  certificate  will  be 
guaranteed ;  and  the  purchaser  can  satisfy  him- 
self as  to  the  accuracy  of  the  tests  made,  either 
by  witnessing  the  operation  or  by  making  the 
test  himself.  We  are  aware  that  this  latter 
suggestion  may  not  seem  to  be  altogether  feasi- 
ble, in  view  of  the  fact  that  expensive  apparatus 
and  exact  scientific  knowledge  are  necessary  to 
determine  the  proper  allowance  for  regain.  But 
it  will  be  clear  that  no  one  has  so  much  at 
stake,  in  the  absolutely  accurate  ascertainment 
of  this  allowance,  as  the  Arlington  Mills,  whose 
ability  to  retain  its  customers  depends  upon  fair 
treatment  of  them. 

The  sale  of  tops  on  the  basis  of  a  certificate  Fair  to  buyer 
of  condition  is  the  only  method  of  sale  which 
is  perfectly  fair  to  both  buyer  and  seller.  On 
no  other  basis  can  the  seller  know  just  what  he 
is  selling,  or  the  buyer  just  what  he  is  buying. 
The  need  for  a  definite  standard  is  as  important 
in  the  case  of  tops  as  in  that  of  yarns. 

A  careful  consideration  of  all  these  facts  has 
79 


HOW   TOPS 
WILL  BE 
SOLD 


Growth  of  the 
Bradford  condi- 
tioning house 


led  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  impossible  to 
look  for  a  large  development  of  business  in  tops 
in  this  country,  unless  at  its  inauguration  there 
is  established  a  thoroughly  scientific  method  of 
ascertaining,  with  respect  to  each  sale  of  tops, 
precisely  what  the  hygroscopic  condition  is  at 
the  time  of  delivery,  measured  by  an  accepted 
standard  as  to  just  what  it  ought  to  be,  the  price 
to  be  determined  by  adjustment  to  that  stand- 
ard. No  other  method  will  give  the  purchaser 
perfect  security  as  against  the  seller,  in  whose 
hands  the  power  would  always  otherwise  lie  to 
profit  by  the  greater  or  less  degree  of  moisture, 
above  the  accepted  standard,  which  might  be 
found  in  the  top  at  the  time  of  shipment. 

That  we  are  not  too  sanguine  in  our  anticipa- 
tion of  the  advantage  our  customers  will  find  in 
this  method  of  purchasing  our  products  may  be 
fairly  inferred  from  the  experience  of  the  Brad- 
ford conditioning  house.  It  is  a  comparatively 
recent  institution  there,  having  been  in  actual 
operation  only  since  1890.  It  is  curious  to 
read  that  for  many  years  the  Bradford  manu- 
facturers were  stoutly  opposed  to  its  establish- 
ment, holding,  with  their  customary  conserva- 
tism, that  they  had  always  done  business  in  the 
old-fashioned  way,  and  that  was  a  good  enough 
way  for  them.  But  after  five  years'  experience, 
nothing  would  induce  them  to  part  with  it.  The 
80 


best   evidence    of    its    utility   is    the   statistical  how  tops 

,  .  .  WILL  BE 

record  or  the  increase  in  its  business  from  year  sold 

to  year,  which  is  as  follows  :  — 

1892          1893          1894  1895 

Total  weight  materials  tested,  lbs.  2,576,190  5,286,500  9,560,842  14,350,000 

Total  number  of  tests  made,                  8,146       15,062        26,168  34,024 
Fees  received,                                         £500          1,100          1,530 

Here  is  indicated  an  enormous  increase  in 
business  —  so  great,  in  fact,  that  the  conditioning 
house  long  since  outgrew  its  original  quarters 
and  has  moved  into  more  commodious  buildings. 
Inquiry  of  Mr.  Walter  Townend,  the  efficient 
manager  of  the  Bradford  conditioning  house, 
elicits  the  fact  that  of  the  material  passing 
through  it  from  year  to  year,  about  55  per 
cent,  is  for  the  home  trade,  the  remainder  being 
chiefly  for  the  continental  export  trade. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  understand  why  the  con-  a  guarantee 
ditioning  house  has  grown  so  quickly  popular  in 
Bradford.  It  is  the  guarantee  of  an  absolutely 
honest  transaction  wherever  it  intervenes.  It 
is  equally  for  the  protection  of  the  buyer  and 
the  seller.  Business  has  now  to  be  done  on 
such  close  margins  that  exactness  is  essential  to 
success  ;  and  exactness  in  the  products  of  wool 
is  possible  through  no  other  instrumentality. 

The  different  situation  in  the  United  States 
not  only  requires  different  methods  of  ascertain- 
ing condition,  in  the  sale  of  tops,  as  above  indi- 
cated, but  it  also  requires  methods  of  conducting 
81 


HOW   TOPS 
WILL  BE 
SOLD 


The  English 
method  of  top 
making 


the  whole  business  radically  different  from  those 
which  prevail  abroad,  as  we  may  now  proceed  to 
show.  We  have  described  in  Chapter  II.  the 
Antwerp  and  the  Bradford  methods  of  dealing 
in  tops.  One  distinguishing  difference  between 
these  two  systems  must  now  be  pointed  out,  as 
the  basis  of  a  demonstration  that  the  method 
introduced  by  the  Arlington  Mills  combines  all 
the  advantages  of  both,  without  the  disadvan- 
tages of  either. 

The  English  combers  comb  on  commission, 
not  universally,  it  is  true,  but  such  is  the  gen- 
eral practice.  The  manufacturer  or  merchant 
makes  his  own  purchases  of  wool,  according  to 
his  needs  ;  the  comber  receives  it  in  the  bale  and 
it  passes  through  his  machinery  at  a  certain 
given  price  for  combing,  according  to  the  quality 
of  the  stock  and  the  purposes  for  which  it  is 
to  be  used.  To  conduct  business  in  this  way 
requires  a  number  of  separate  compartments  at 
the  mill,  one  for  each  customer,  into  which  that 
customer  carts  his  stock,  and  to  which  he  alone 
has  access.  Here  he  sends  his  own  sorters  and 
makes  his  own  mixes  ;  and  thence  his  wool  goes 
to  particular  machines  adjusted  to  his  particular 
work.  The  arrangement  requires  a  careful  sys- 
tem of  secrecy  and  surveillance,  so  that  one 
manufacturer  shall  not  know  the  kinds  of  wool 
or  the  qualities  of  blends  which  a  rival  manu- 
82 


f acturer   is    employing.      The    comber   himself  how  tops 

r      J       &  WILL  BE 

knows  nothing  about  it  and  cares  nothing  about  S0LD 
it.  He  makes  tops  out  of  whatever  is  brought 
to  him,  at  so  much  per  pound.  Whether  their 
quality  is  good,  bad,  or  indifferent  is  the  con- 
cern of  the  manufacturer  only,  —  at  least  until 
the  consumer's  turn  arrives. 

At  Antwerp  the  comber  is  himself  the  pur-  The  Antwerp 
chaser  and  owner  of  the  wool  which  he  converts 
into  tops ;  and  it  is  his  business  to  make  a  stand- 
ard quality,  up  to  market  requirements,  by  the 
exercise  of  all  the  ingenuity  he  can  command 
in  the  selection  and  blending  of  his  stock.  The 
fate  of  the  goods  made  from  his  tops  is  not  his 
concern.  What  he  produces  loses  its  individu- 
ality in  a  mass  of  tops,  made  nobody  knows 
where  or  by  whom,  and  thrown  upon  the  market 
in  an  indiscriminate  lump.  The  buyer  of  those 
tops  takes  his  chances ;  and  if  product  goes 
wrong,  he  has  no  one  to  fall  back  upon. 

The  Arlington  Mills  method   is  neither  the  The  Arlington 

.  .,  Mills  method 

Bradford  nor  the  Antwerp  method ;  and  its  ad- 
vantages over  either  or  both  will  be  instantly 
apparent.  The  spinner  in  need  of  tops  can  buy 
what  he  wants,  in  quality  of  stock,  as  at  Ant- 
werp, with  a  guarantee  of  that  quality  such  as 
Antwerp  cannot  supply. 

He  can  purchase  in  larger  or  smaller  quanti- 
ties, according  to  his  necessities  or  capital,  with- 
83 


HOW   TOPS 
WILL   BE 
SOLD 


Some  of  the  ad- 
vantages 


out  being  compelled,  as  at  Bradford,  to  buy  his 
own  wool  and  take  his  chances  of  making  an 
advantageous  disposal  of  the  sorts  unsuited  to 
his  purposes. 

In  a  word,  the  Arlington  Mills  will  comb  tops 
for  sale,  in  any  quantity,  from  any  quality  of 
stock,  to  be  delivered  according  to  the  require- 
ments of  the  manufacturer.  It  will  buy  the 
wool  and  buy  it  to  the  best  advantage,  because 
the  immense  quantity  it  annually  consumes  com- 
pels it  to  have  its  agents  at  all  the  great  wool 
sales  of  Europe,  Australia,  and  South  America. 

The  great  stocks  of  wool  which  the  exigencies 
of  its  business  compel  the  Arlington  Mills  to 
have  always  on  hand  in  its  storehouses  permit 
of  a  much  wider  choice,  in  the  selection  of  sorts, 
than  would  be  possible  to  any  purchaser  except 
he  were  a  purchaser  on  an  equally  large  scale. 
It  permits  the  filling  of  exigency  orders  at  short 
notice,  much  shorter  than  would  be  possible  if 
it  was  necessary,  with  each  order,  to  go  into  the 
market  and  search  for  the  proper  stock. 

It  will  enable  manufacturers  to  carry  on  their 
business  with  a  much  smaller  capital,  and  to 
turn  such  capital  as  they  have  much  more 
quickly  and  frequently.  No  capital  must  be 
locked  up  in  the  storehouses.  Not  until  the  top 
is  actually  delivered,  ready  for  the  spinning 
frame,  does  the  raw  material  become  a  charge 


on  the  capital,  a  gain   in  the  matter  of   time  how  tops 

r  °  .  WILL  BE 

which  may  often  amount  to  six  months  or  even  sold 

more. 

Above  and  beyond  these  advantages  is  the  ad-  Quality  of  stock 
ditional  one  conveyed  in  the  guarantee  of  the 
quality  of  the  stock.  Long  experience  in  the 
manufacture  of  tops  implies  superior  knowledge 
as  to  how  to  get  the  best  possible  results.  The 
management  of  the  Arlington  Mills  believe  they 
have  solved  the  problem  of  superior  top  making. 
They  have  investigated  the  processes  in  use  in 
the  best  combing  establishments  abroad.  Their 
mills  are  equipped  with  the  most  recent  and  the 
most  perfect  machinery,  with  every  appliance 
for  perfect  work  which  mechanical  ingenuity 
has  been  able  to  suggest.  Their  sorting  is  con- 
ducted under  the  most  rigid  supervision.  Their 
system  of  inspection  is  so  complete  that  defec- 
tive work  can  hardly  escape  detection.  All 
these  advantages,  the  result  of  years  of  patient 
experiment  and  study,  will  be  at  the  command 
of  their  customers.  The  risk  of  mistake  is  re- 
duced to  the  minimum.  More  than  that,  the 
responsibility  for  mistake  is  assumed  by  the  top 
maker. 

The  difficulties  which  surround  the  manufac-  perfect  yam 

ture  of  perfect  worsted  yarn  are  well  known  to  all 

those  who  have  attempted  it.     They  are  greater 

probably  than  in  any  other  branch  of  the  textile 

85 


how  tops       manufacture.     These  difficulties  are  nearly  all 

will  be  „,-.•-,  t  i-  i. 

sold  of  them  incident  to  the  stages  of  manufacture 

prior  to  the    drawing  and    spinning.     Given  a 

perfect  top,  exactly  suited  to  the  yarn  required, 

and  it  is  a  comparatively  simple  matter  to  secure 

a  perfect  yarn  from  the  spinning  frame.     The 

spindles  work  automatically ;  with  proper  care 

and    attention,  they    will    always  do   the   same 

quality  of  work,  provided  they  are  always  fed 

with  a  uniform  quality  of  top. 


A  Pair  of  Hand  Combs 


CHAPTER  VII 


THE    MECHANICAL    ADVANCE    OF   THE    WORSTED 
MANUFACTURE 


T  the  head  of  this  chapter  appears  an  Hand  combing 
illustration  of  a  pair  of  hand  combs, 
similar  to  those  with  which,  up  to  about 
sixty  years  ago,  all  the  wool  used  in  the  world 
for  the  worsted  manufacture  was  prepared  for 
the  spinner.  One  of  these  combs,  called  the 
"  pad  "  comb,  was  fixed  to  a  post  by  an  iron  rod, 
and  the  raw  material,  properly  prepared,  was 
lashed  into  the  "  pad  "  comb,  and  placed  in  a 
stove  called  the  "  comb  pot ;  "  when  the  wool 
was  properly  heated,  the  comber  began  his  work, 
one  comb  upon  the  post,  the  other  held  in  the 
hand,  each  comb  becoming  a  working  comb  alter- 
87 


The  combing 
machine 


mechanical  nately,  the  teeth  of  one  passing-  through  the  tuft 

ADVANCE  J  ., 

of  the  of  wool  upon  the  other,  until  the  fibres  became 

WORSTED  l  ' 

turfFAC~  perfectly  smooth,  parallel,  and  free  from  noil. 
This  work  was  always  performed  at  the  home  of 
the  comber,  and  it  was  regarded  as  the  most 
delicate  and  difficult  of  all  the  operations  con- 
nected with  the  textile  manufacture.  Wool 
combers,  in  the  early  half  of  the  century,  were 
quite  the  aristocracy  of  the  industry,  and  re- 
ceived the  highest  wages  paid  to  any  class. 

No  contrast  between  old  and  new  industrial- 
ism is  more  striking  than  that  between  this  old 
method  of  combing  and  the  modern  methods. 
On  another  page  appears  an  illustration  of  a 
modern  comb,  charged  with  wool  in  process  of 
manufacture ;  and,  comparing  its  complex  parts 
with  the  above  description  of  hand  combing,  one 
has  no  difficulty  iu  accepting  the  statement  of  a 
French  writer,  that  its  action  more  nearly  ap- 
proaches the  deftness  of  the  human  hand  than 
that  of  any  other  machine  ever  invented.  Mr. 
Burnley,  in  his  "  History  of  Wool  and  Wool 
Combing,"  has  drawn  so  graphic  a  picture  of  a 
wool-combing  room  that  we  are  tempted  to  quote 
it.  "  Here,"  says  Mr.  Burnley,  "  are  rows  upon 
rows  of  wool-combing  machines.  As  a  piece  of 
mechanism,  each  of  these  machines  is  beautiful 
to  look  upon  ;  the  brightness  of  its  appearance, 
the  unerring  exactness  of  its  movements,  and  the 
88 


Mr.  Burnley 
quoted 


more  than  human  dexterity  with  which  it  han-  mechanical 

J  .  ADVANCE 

dies  the  fibre,  all  combine  to  excite  admiration,  of  the 

'        _  m  WORSTED 

All  that  is  required  of  the  attendants  is  to  see  ^ure^0- 
that  the  combs  are  kept  strictly  clean  and  clear, 
and  that  no  obstruction  is  permitted  to  inter- 
fere with  the  ingress  and  egress  of  the  woolly 
filament.  The  combs  move  round  the  machines 
horizontally,  each  separate  comb  forming  a 
segment  of  a  circle  of  combs,  and  being  fed  by 
a  couple  of  feeders  which  imitate  the  motion 
of  the  old  hand  comber  and  rise  and  fall  with 
great  rapidity.  Looking  across  these  bright  a  combmg-room 
rows  of  combing  machines,  this  continuous  ris- 
ing and  falling  movement  of  steel-toothed  in- 
struments constitutes  an  exceedingly  striking 
picture.  The  horizontal  combs  convey  the  wool 
round  to  drawing-off  rollers,  and  at  that  point 
the  fibre  issues  from  the  machines  in  its  combed 
condition,  falling  in  white,  lustrous,  delicate 
filaments  into  tall  tin  cans  placed  for  its  recep- 
tion. The  beautiful  operation,  upon  which  so 
much  human  ingenuity,  skill,  patience,  and  such 
a  vast  amount  of  money  have  been  expended,  is 
now  complete." 

This  contrast  between  the  hand  comb  and  the 
machine  comb  is  suggested  by  the  fact  that  so 
lately  as  August  14  last,  at  his  princely  home 
near  Bradford,  in  England,  died  Sir  Isaac  Sir  Isaac  Hoiden 
Holclen,  the  man  who,  in  conjunction  with  Sam- 
89 


MECHANICAL 
ADVANCE 
OF   THE 
WORSTED 
MANUFAC- 
TURE 


Richard  Ark- 
wright 


Introduction  of 
machine  comb- 
ing 


uel  Cunliff  Lister  (now  Lord  Masham,  and 
still  an  active  business  man),  first  brought  the 
combing  machine  to  that  point  of  perfection 
where  it  became  possible  to  operate  it  to  advan- 
tage. These  men  were  given  titles  by  the 
Queen  just  as  Richard  Arkwright  was  knighted 
a  hundred  years  ago,  in  recognition  of  their  ex- 
traordinary services  in  the  development  of  Eng- 
land's great  specialty  in  the  wool  manufacture. 
They  both  accumulated  gigantic  fortunes,  the 
just  rewards  of  their  ingenuity  and  their  indom- 
itable perseverance  in  overcoming  mechanical 
difficulties  which  other  men  declared  to  be  insu- 
perable. 

Thus  the  lifetime  of  men  yet  living  covers 
the  real  development  of  an  industry  which  ex- 
isted in  England,  in  its  primitive  state,  before 
the  industrial  annals  of  that  country  began  to 
be  recorded.  There  are  in  the  employ  of  the 
Arlington  Mills  men  who  left  the  old  country, 
where  they  had  been  hand  combers,  because  the 
introduction  of  the  Holden  and  Lister  machines 
had  deprived  them  of  the  occupation  to  which 
their  lives  had  been  trained.  It  is  estimated 
that  at  the  time  referred  to  —  between  1845 
and  1855,  when  the  mechanical  comb  was  gen- 
erally introduced  in  the  English  worsted  mills 
—  there  were  some  20,000  men  employed,  in  all 
parts  of  the  kingdom,  in  the  highly  paid  and 
90 


hio-hly  expert  business  of  the  hand  combing;  of  mechanical 

°      J  r  °  ADVANCE 

wool.  0F  THE 

WORSTED 

The  introduction  of  the  machine  was  bitterly  ^^FAC' 
and  even  riotously  resisted  by  the  hand  comb- 
ers, just  as  the  use  of  the  spinning  frame  had 
been  resisted  by  the  hand  spinners  nearly  a 
century  earlier,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  a 
devil's  device  to  take  the  bread  from  the  mouths 
of  their  families.  Indeed,  Mr.  Holden,  who  was 
a  man  of  great  heart  and  humane  instincts,  was 
much  troubled  in  the  early  days  of  his  career  as 
an  inventor,  by  the  fear  that  his  success  would 
bring  suffering  and  want  to  a  great  body  of  in- 
dustrious men.  At  a  later  period  in  his  life, 
speaking  on  this  phase  of  the  subject,  Mr. 
Holden  said  that  when  he  established  his  wool- 
combing  works  in  France  there  was  a  popular 
tion  of  about  5,000  in  the  adjacent  village, 
while  to-day  the  same  town  contained  a  popu- 
lation of  240,000  souls,  the  great  majority  of 
whom  owed  their  living  directly  or  indirectly  to 
the  industries  which  had  grown  up  out  of  his 
wool-combing  establishment.  It  would  seem  to 
be  sufficiently  plain  that  this  great  invention,  so 
far  from  permanently  displacing  workmen,  has 
enormously  increased  the  opportunities  for  em- 
ployment. 

Sixty  years  ago,  20,000  wool  combers  worked  what  machinery 

t        has  made  possi- 

up    all    the     wool   consumed    by   the    English  bie 
91 


WORSTED 
MANUFAC- 
TURE 


mechanical  worsted  manufacture,  and  the  industry  hardly 

ADVANCE  .  mi 

had  a  footing  in  any  other  country.  To-day  two 
million  hand  combers  could  not  prepare  the 
wool  which  the  worsted  manufacture  eats  up 
each  year  by  the  aid  of  machines  which  employ 
twenty  times  the  number  of  operatives  that  the 
industry  required  before  the  machine  super- 
seded the  man  in  this  particular  process. 

We  recite  these  somewhat  familiar  facts, 
because  they  show  vividly  how  comparatively 
recent  the  real  worsted  manufacture  is,  as  now 
organized.  It  is  the  newest  of  all  the  textile  in- 
dustries, from  that  point  of  view,  and  therefore 
the  one  whose  future  offers  the  largest  oppor- 
tunities. Revolutionized  as  to  its  fundamental 
process  within  the  lifetime  of  men  now  engaged 
in  it,  it  offers  possibilities  of  future  growth,  for 
the  measurement  of  which  there  is  no  standard 
in  the  past ;  and  it  is  far  more  adaptable  to 
those  changes  in  methods,  the  coming  of  which 
we  foresee  in  the  United  States,  than  would 
otherwise  be  the  case.  It  is  still  in  that  state  of 
flexibility,  incident  to  the  comparative  newness 
of  the  conditions  governing  its  extension,  which 
renders  an  innovation,  like  the  proposed  special 
manufacture  of  tops,  by  no  means  so  radical  a 
new  departure  or  so  doubtful  an  experiment  as 
it  may  appear  at  first  thought. 

The  force  of  this  will  be  made  more  apparent 
92 


Possibilities  of 
future  growth 


by  reverting;  again  for  a  moment  to  the  sister  mechanical 

m  J  °       °  ADVANCE 

industry  of  the  woolen  manufacture.     There  are  of  the 

J  WORSTED 

but  few  woolen  mills  in  the  United  States  that  M^FAC- 
do  not  spin  their  own  yarns,  just  as  they  have 
been  doing  ever  since  the  American  revolution. 
Change  from  the  old  methods  in  that  branch 
will  necessarily  be  slow,  not  alone  by  reason  of 
the  conservative  influence  of  long  custom,  but 
because  this  very  conservatism  kills  any  incen- 
tive to  supply  the  facilities  for  effecting  a  change. 
If  woolen  yarns  were  purchasable  in  all  varie- 
ties and  counts,  a  market  would  doubtless  grow 
up  for  them  in  time.  The  facility  with  which 
worsted  yarns  can  be  obtained  has  enormously 
added  to  the  sale  of  them  ;  and  such,  we  have 
faith  to  believe,  will  now  be  the  case  with  tops. 

The  successful  achievement  of  the  combing  Rapidity  of 
machine  may  be  said  to  have  disposed  of  the 
last  of  the  fundamental  inventions  required  in 
the  mechanical  manufacture  of  the  wool  fibre. 
There  remains  no  single  process,  of  an  impor- 
tant character  at  least,  —  no  process  which  in- 
volves any  fundamental  mechanical  principle, 
which  is  not  now  performed  by  machinery. 

As  the  worsted  manufacture  was  the  last  to 
come  completely  under  the  domination  of  the 
machine,  it  has  necessarily  been  the  one  in  which 
the  most  rapid  progress  has  been  made  during 
the  last  half  century,  and  even  during  the  last 
93 


mechanical  ten  or  a  dozen  years. 

ADVANCE 
OF  THE 
WORSTED 
MANUFAC- 
TURE 


Large  produc- 
tion with  best 
results 


As  all  the  collateral  ma- 
chinery now  used  in  the  processes  preliminary 
to  spinning  depended  upon  the  combing  ma- 
chine, it  follows  that  in  their  essential  features 
all  these  machines  have  been  brought  to  their 
present  degree  of  efficiency  since  the  invention 
of  the  combing  machine.  In  these  machines 
improvements  have  followed  rapidly  upon  each 
other's  heels  ;  hardly  a  year  passes  without  the 
application  of  some  new  device  for  the  expedit- 
ing or  the  simplifying  of  the  various  processes, 
—  devices  which  have  made  the  manufacture 
pratically  automatic  from  start  to  finish.  These 
inventions  and  improvements,  since  they  have 
involved  no  modification  in  the  fundamental 
principles  of  manufacture,  have  created  no  such 
stir  in  the  world  as  did  the  invention  of  the 
combing  machine ;  but  they  are  hardly  less  im- 
portant, in  their  general  relation  to  the  problem 
of  large  production  with  the  best  results. 

This  may  be  said  to  be  the  one  great  problem 
of  modern  manufacturing,  so  far  as  it  relates  to 
semi-manufactured  articles  like  yarns  and  tops, 
into  the  making  of  which  there  enters  no  ques- 
tion of  design,  pattern,  color,  or  adaptability 
to  popular  taste,  and  where  the  sole  ends  to  be 
obtained  are  uniformity  and  quality. 

Under  such  conditions,  excellence  of  product 
is  possible,  in  connection  with  the  very  largest 
94 


production  of  which  a  given  amount  of  machin-  mechanical 

.  i-r'  •  ADVANCE 

ery  is  capable.     Given  a  proper  selection  and  of  the 

J  /  .  .  WORSTED 

preparation  of  stock  in  the  first  instance ;  given  ^re  fac~ 
machinery  which  does  its  work  perfectly  and 
uniformly,  then  the  excellence  of  the  product 
may  be  kept  at  a  uniformly  high  standard,  while 
the  production  of  the  machinery  continues  to 
increase  by  reason  of  the  various  improvements 
to  which  we  have  alluded. 

It  was  at  once  realized,  after  the  combing  Quantity  and 
machine  was  perfected,  that  the  wool  emerged 
from  it  in  a  far  better  condition  than  had  been 
the  case  with  hand-combed  wool.  There  is  now 
a  uniformity  and  evenness  about  the  treatment 
of  the  fibre  which  it  was  impossible  for  the  most 
expert  hand  comber  to  attain.  So  it  has  been 
found  that  the  progressive  improvements  in 
combing-machines,  gill-boxes,  back-washers,  and 
other  preparatory  machines  which  have  con- 
stantly tended  to  increase  the  quantity  of  pro- 
duction, have  at  the  same  time  increased  the 
quality  of  the  product. 

To  illustrate  this  from  the  experience  of  the 
Arlington  Mills,  it  may  be  said  that  important 
instrumentalities  in  effecting  the  increased  pro- 
duction of  the  combs  now  in  use  there  are  nicer 
accuracy  of  adjustment  in  circles,  and  the  much  Some  recent 

i  .    i      ,,  i      .  I'll       mechanical 

more    substantial   foundations  upon  which   the  improvements 
machines    are    erected.     It   is  self-evident  that 
95 


mechanical  improvements  of  this  character  have  as  impor 

ADVANCE 
OF  THE 


WORSTED 
MANUFAC- 
TURE 


Larger  doffings 


tant  an  effect  upon  quality  as  upon  quantity  of 
production. 

Another  illustration  will  tend  to  show  how 
rapid  recent  progress  in  the  manufacture  is. 
Ten  years  ago,  in  all  our  worsted  spinning  mills, 
one  man  tended  one  comb.  At  the  present  time, 
that  same  man  will  easily  tend  two  combs,  on  the 
same  quality  of  stock,  and  the  production  of  each 
comb  is  more  than  double  what  it  was.  To  state 
the  matter  mathematically,  there  has  been  an  in- 
crease of  from  four  to  five  times  in  the  product 
which  comes  from  one  man's  labor,  due  wholly 
to  improvements  in  the  machinery  he  attends. 
These  improvements  are  of  such  a  character 
that  the  actual  physical  effort  of  the  workman 
is  no  greater  than  formerly,  if  as  great,  —  and 
the  improvements  which  require  less  labor  on 
his  part,  in  a  given  result,  necessarily  result  in 
an  improved  quality  of  product  with  the  greatly 
increased  quantity,  because  formerly  his  labor 
very  largely  consisted  in  watching  and  correct- 
ing the  defective  work  of  the  machine. 

Other  illustrations  from  other  departments 
of  a  mill  will  show  what  important  results,  in 
the  way  of  increasing  product  while  improving 
quality,  follow  from  comparatively  small  causes, 
—  small,  that  is,  in  comparison  with  the  great 
inventions  which  revolutionize  the  whole  methods 
96 


of  an  industry.     In  spinning,  a  doffing  would  mechanical 

J  r  &'  »  ADVANCE 

formerly  weigh    3A    pounds ;   the  bobbins   now  of  Jhe 

*>  ^  a      ■*■  WORSTED 

used  are  so  much  longer  and  larger  that  a  dof-  ^^FAC~ 
fing  will  weigh  from  eight  to  nine  pounds,  the 
gain  in  production  corresponding,  without  any 
loss  in  quality. 

The  speed  of  worsted  spindles  has  been  grad-  Speed  of  spin- 
ually  increased  from  5,000  or  6,000  revolutions 
to  7,000  or  8,000  revolutions  a  minute ;  and  the 
methods  by  which  this  increased  speed  have 
been  secured  are  such  as  to  insure  a  more 
perfect  uniformity  in  the  quality  of  the  yarn. 

This  advance,  in  connection  with  the  improved  Looms 
methods  of  putting  up  and  dressing  warps,  so 
that  the  ends  do  not  come  down  so  often,  enable 
one  weaver  to  attend  six  looms  to-day,  as  easily 
as  he  could  two  looms  ten  years  ago.  It  is  self- 
evident  that  when  six  looms  require  no  more 
personal  attention  than  two  looms  recently  re- 
quired, it  must  be  because  the  looms  are  doing 
better  work  than  formerly  and  producing  a 
better-woven  fabric,  with  fewer  defects. 

The  more  perfect  the  workmanship  of  a  given  increase  of 

,  .  ,  ,  .      .  ...         individual 

machine,  the  greater  becomes  the  producing  productivity 
capacity  of  a  given  number  of  operatives,  set 
to  tend  the  machine.  You  can  increase  indefi- 
nitely the  number  of  machines  attended  by  the 
single  operative,  provided  you  correspondingly 
increase  the  automatic  perfection  with  which 
97 


mechanical  each  machine  performs  its  work.     You  cannot 

ADVANCE 

of  the  increase  the  efficiency  of  the  machine  without 

WORSTED  J 

TURE  FAC"  improving  the  quality  of  its  work.  So  it  is  that 
from  year  to  year  a  given  number  of  operatives, 
in  an  up-to-date  mill,  is  continually  increasing 
the  quantity  of  its  product,  while  the  quality  is 
always  improving.  The  evolution  of  manufac- 
turing is  a  constant  record  of  more  machines 
to  the  man ;  but  in  order  to  understand  it,  it 
is  necessary  to  remember  that  there  cannot  be 
more  machines  to  the  operative  unless  they  are 
better  machines. 

a  popular  error        We  are  reciting  facts  so  perfectly  familiar  to 

corrected  . 

manufacturers  that  it  may  seem  a  work  of  super- 
erogation to  repeat  them  in  a  publication  of  this 
character.  But  it  is  necessary  to  repeat  them  if 
we  are  to  convey  to  the  lay  reader  an  intelligent 
conception  of  the  reason  why  the  constantly  in- 
creasing productivity  of  modern  machinery  is 
accompanied  by  a  corresponding  improvement 
in  the  quality  of  the  product.  The  popular  im- 
pression is  just  the  other  way.  It  is  an  impres- 
sion fostered,  we  regret  to  say,  by  many  of  our 
writers  and  teachers  on  industrial  economics, 
—  men  who  no  doubt  state  their  own  impres- 
sions with  all  sincerity,  and  who  draw  erroneous 
conclusions  only  because  they  are  necessarily 
unfamiliar  with  the  actual  conditions  which  pre- 
vail in  manufacturing  to-day,  and  which  under- 
98 


lie  the  extraordinary  increase  in  productivity  of  mechanical 

J  ADVANCE 

which  they  are  vaguely  aware,  and  which  they  of  the 

J  &         J  >  J   WORSTED 

scholastically  assume  can  be  possible  only  at  the  MureFAC~ 
sacrifice  of  merit. 

We*  had  an  illustration  of  this  tendency  of  our  President  Eiiot 
educational  leaders  in  a  recent  magazine  article 
by  President  Eliot  of  Harvard  University,  in 
which  he  wrote :  "  The  Hessian  country  girl 
probably  wears  her  grandmother's  woolen  petti- 
coats, and  they  are  as  good  and  handsome  as 
sixty  years  ago.  A  Scotch  shepherd's  all-wool 
plaid  withstands  the  wind  and  rain  for  a  life- 
time," and  he  adds  a  eulogy  of  the  old  Swiss 
porter's  overcoat,  which  has  kept  him  warm 
and  dry  for  twentjr-five  years.  In  sharp  con- 
trast with  these  examples  the  president  speaks 
contemptuously  of  the  "  all  cotton  "  clothing  of 
an  American  rural  community  that  costs  about 
ten  dollars  a  suit,  fades  promptly,  and  is  gone 
in  a  season.  His  obvious  moral  is  that  we  are 
living  in  the  age  of  "  cheap  and  nasty "  cloth- 
ing ;  that  it  wears  out  about  as  fast  as  the 
rapidly  revolving  machinery  of  the  nineteenth 
century  can  produce  it ;  that  all  that  was  for-  Hand-made 

J  .  .  cloths 

merly  made  in  the  way  of  textiles,  by  the  more 
laborious  hand  processes,  was  better  than  any- 
thing now  produced  by  our  much  boasted  mod- 
ern machinery. 

Now  it  is  perfectly  true  that  the  hand-spun 
99 


mechanical  and  hand -wo  ven  fabrics  of  the  last  century  pos- 

ADVANCE  .  .  .  . 

of  the  sessed  an  enduring  quality  not  inherent  in  most 

WORSTED  o     J.  J 

^.^tfac-      0f  our  lighter  and    more  delicate  cloths.     But 


TURE 


it  is  equally  true  that  if  there  were  not  some 
apparent  and  unmistakable  gain  in  the  modern 
machine-made  fabric,  the  backwoods  farmers' 
wives  and  villagers,  who  formerly  made  their 
own  clothing  in  their  own  homes,  would  have 
continued  to  make  it,  notwithstanding  the  ad- 
vent of  the  machine.  Cheaper  than  formerly, 
and  immensely  cheaper,  the  materials  of  cloth- 
ing undoubtedly  are ;  and  many  of  them  are 
cheaper  and  poorer  than  they  ought  to  be,  al- 
though it  is  the  market  that  determines  the 
quality  of  the  very  poorest  stuff  that  is  made. 
The  woman  who  wants  a  cheap  dress  can  get  it 
now,  and  that  she  could  not  do  in  the  days 
that  are  gone.  But  the  woman  who  wants  a 
handsome  dress,  of  the  highest  quality  and  the 
most  perfect  construction,  can  also  get  it,  at  a 
price  very  much  less  than  any  material  of  like 
quality  would  have  cost  in  the  old  days.  While 
the  tendency  with  the  cheapest  goods  may  be 
constantly  towards  a  poorer  quality,  according 
to  the  price  one  is  willing  or  able  to  pay, 
the  tendency  in  the  other  grades  is  constantly 
towards  more  perfect  workmanship,  with  better 
all-round  results.  The  perfecting  of  textile 
machinery,  even  when  it  tends  to  enormous 
100 


increase  in  output  and  constantly  reducing  costs  mechanical 
of  manufacture,  is    always  m  the  direction  of  of  the 

'  ^  J  WORSTED 

a  better  article.  Even  so  simple  a  thing  as  MureFA°~ 
a  worsted  yarn  will  illustrate  this  constant 
tendency  towards  improvement.  The  yarns 
formerly  made  would  never  have  stood  the  test 
of  the  rapid  loom  work  to  which  they  are  now 
subjected,  because  the  machinery  which  spun 
them  was  not  capable  of  making  an  absolutely 
uniform  skein,  each  part  of  which  was  as  per- 
fect as  every  other  part. 

It  is  a  popular  habit  to  indulge  in  generaliza- 
tions, based  upon  isolated  illustrations,  which 
ignore  the  real  economic  relation  of  modern 
methods  of  cloth-making  to  the  social  status  of 
the  whole  people.  It  implies  that  with  all 
that  has  been  gained,  something  has  been  lost, 
without  which  we  are  on  the  whole  the  losers 
in  consequence  of  these  modern  methods.  It 
is  not  possible  to  take  that  view,  so  far  as  it 
concerns  the  clothing  of  the  people,  without 
ignoring  certain  historical  facts  having  to  do 
with  the  every-day  life  of  the  people.  The 
long  life  of  the  better  grade  of  garments  worn 
by  our  ancestors  was  due  chiefly  to  the  fact 
that  they  did  not  wear  them  as  all  clothes  are 
worn  to-day.  Before  the  advent  of  machine- 
made  cloth,  the  higher  priced  garments  were  so 
expensive  that  they  were  carefully  preserved 
101 


OF   THE 

WORSTED 
MANUFAC- 
TURE 


mechanical  anions   the    other    family   valuables,    and    only 

ADVANCE  °  J  ip 

brought  out  on  stated  occasions,  to  be  carefully 
packed  away  again  in  their  cedar  boxes  and 
other  nioth-protecting  coverings.  They  lasted 
because  they  were  cared  for ;  and  they  were 
cared  for  because  they  were  too  costly  to  be 
worn  out  and  replaced  every  year  or  two,  as  at 
present.  Thus  is  explained  the  presence,  in  the 
closets  and  attics  of  so  many  people,  of  the  great- 
grandmother's  wedding  dress  and  slippers,  of  the 
curious  blue  broadcloth  dress  suit,  with  its  brass 
buttons  and  tight-fitting  sleeves,  and  the  other 
paraphernalia  of  antique  costuming  which  serve 
to  give  color  and  zest  to  our  modern  theatrical 
and  minuet  entertainments.  They  have  been 
handed  down  to  this  generation  as  family  relics, 
because  they  were  too  precious  in  their  own  day 
to  be  treated  as  necessities  of  life. 

Mr.  McMaster,  in  his  admirable  history,  writes 
that  "  the  colonial  New  Englander  had  for  the 
Sabbath  and  state  occasions  a  suit  of  broadcloth 
or  corduroy  which  lasted  him  a  lifetime,-  and 
was  at  length  bequeathed,  little  the  worse  for 
wear,  with  his  cattle  and  his  farm,  to  his  son." 
It  is  an  easily  established  fact  that  modern 
broadcloth,  machine-made  though  it  be,  pos- 
sesses every  quality  of  endurance  found  in  the 
broadcloth  of  colonial  days.  It  is  made  all  of 
wool,  and  wool  has  lost  none  of  the  virtues  it 
102 


quoted 


possessed    two    centuries    ago.      It  only  differs  mechanical 

*■  o  .     t/  ADVANCE 

in  that  it  is  in  every  way  a  better  and  a  more  ^0^|^D 
perfectly  made  fabric.  The  suit  of  clothes  made  ™ufac- 
from  to-day's  broadcloth  can  be  handed  clown 
from  generation  to  generation,  if  the  owner 
thereof  will  treat  it  with  the  same  scrupulous 
care,  and  never  wear  it  except  when  he  goes  to 
church. 

It  is  not  the  least  of  the  blessings  of  our  time 
that  we  need  no  longer  fear  to  wear  our  best 
clothes  because  we  cannot  afford  to  replace 
them.  They  are  now  so  cheap,  in  comparison 
with  their  cost  in  colonial  days,  and  the  where- 
withal to  buy  them  is  so  relatively  plentiful,  that 
our  well-to-do  people  now  give  away  each  year 
clothes  enough  to  have  sufficed  for  several  gen- 
erations of  their  ancestors,  without  thought  as 
to  how  many  years  of  good  service  are  left  in 
them  for  their  recipients. 

The  habit  of  decrying  modern  clothing,  as 
a  degenerate  and  inferior  production  to  that 
which  distinguished  "  the  good  old  times,"  is 
only  one  of  many  prevalent  methods  of  looking 
askance  at  modern  progress,  and  philosophizing 
over  the  backward  trend  of  civilization  in  cer- 
tain important  characteristics  of  social  and  in- 
dustrial life.  This  habit  is  twin  sister  to  another 
idea,  tenaciously  prevalent  in  certain  ultra  cir- 
cles, to  the  effect  that  nothing  which  is  made  in 
103 


OF  THE 
WORSTED 
MANUFAC- 
TURE 


mechanical  the  United  States  is  quite  as  good  as  the  identi- 

ADVANCE  i-ii  -i 

cally  same  thing  which  has  been  made  in  some 
foreign  country.  In  no  department  is  this 
notion  so  persistent  as  in  that  which  has  to  do 
with  the  materials  out  of  which  our  clothing  is 
made ;  and  nowhere,  it  may  be  added,  is  this 
widely  prevalent  impression  so  wholly  without  a 
foundation  of  truth  upon  which  to  rest.  It  is 
a  fact  well  known  to  those  in  trade  that  a  num- 
ber of  our  best  manufacturers  are  compelled, 
in  order  to  hold  the  natural  markets  for  their 
Foreign  labels  goods,  to  ticket  them  with  foreign  labels,  and 
thus  foster  the  impression  that  they  are  not  of 
domestic  origin.  It  is  a  common  practice  for 
well-dressed  American  men  to  pay  a  dollar  a 
yard  more  for  the  cloth  in  the  suit  of  clothes 
they  are  ordering,  in  order  that  they  may  wear 
what  they  believe  to  be  foreign-made  cloth,  in 
blissful  ignorance  of  the  fact  that  it  was  made 
right  here  at  home,  and  is  so  perfect  in  every 
particular  that  they  will  by  no  mischance  ever 
know  the  difference.  We  do  not  wish  to  be 
understood  as  sanctioning  this  method  of  doing 
business.  The  pity  of  it  is,  that  it  should  ever 
be  necessary  as  an  antidote  to  the  unnatural 
prejudice  of  certain  native-born  Americans  to 
the  productions  of  home  industry. 

It  is  narrated  that  in  the  year  1770,  or  there- 
abouts,   prompted  by  the    popular   resentment 
104 


aroused  by  the  Stamp  Act  of  1766,  the  grad-  mechanical 

x  i       ADVANCE 

uates    of    Harvard    College    appeared    on    the  of  the 

&  rr  <      WORSTED 

commencement  stage  clad  from  head  to  foot  in  E^5FAC" 

&  TURE 

garments  whose  material  was  made  wholly  in 
the  Massachusetts  colony.  It  was  their  way  of 
showing  their  aggressive  patriotism,  at  a  time 
when  the  mother  country  was  bending  all  her 
resources  to  suppress  and  destroy  the  nascent 
industries  of  the  American  colonies,  particularly 
the  making  of  woolen  cloths,  which  England 
regarded  as  her  own  special  and  peculiar  privi- 
lege. 

A  little  more  of  the  spirit  and  purpose  which 
marked  that  demonstration  of  the  Harvard  boys 
in  1770  would  not  be  amiss  in  these  closing 
years  of  the  nineteenth  century.  We  stand  in 
need  of  some  renewal  of  the  colonial  faith  in 
ourselves  and  our  destiny,  to  help  the  present 
generation  to  a  better  understanding  of  the  fact 
that  in  the  social  and  industrial  evolution  now 
advancing  so  rapidly,  all  things  are  working 
together  for  the  greatest  good  of  the  greatest 
number ;  —  and  more  certainly,  more  rapidly, 
more  hopefully,  in  our  own  beloved  country  than 
in  any  other. 


An  Ancient  Egyptian  Weaver,     b.  c.  2000 

(From  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson's  "  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Ancient 
Egyptians") 


CHAPTER  VIII 


SUMMARY 


A  unique  enter- 
prise 


N  concluding  this  cursory  sketch  of  the 
history  and  future  possibilities  of  the 
worsted  manufacture  in  the  United 
States,  we  will  endeavor  to  put  the  whole  thing 
in  a  nutshell  by  summarizing,  in  as  few  words 
as  possible,  the  several  advantages  which  seem 
likely  to  come  to  that  industry  in  this  country 
by  reason  of  the  establishment  of  the  Arlington 
Mills  top  mill.  The  reader  of  the  preceding 
pages  will  have  discovered  that  this  enterprise 
is  the  only  one  of  its  exact  type  in  the  world, 
because,  in  offering  tops  to  the  trade,  it  com- 
bines the  work  of  the  merchant  and  the  manu- 
106 


facturer  in  a  manner  done  in  no  other  country,  summary 
He  will  have  learned  that  it  is  a  conservative 
step  in  the  direction  of  specialization  in  the 
worsted  industry,  —  an  advance  movement  which 
appeals  to  the  worsted  spinner  by  reason  of 
the  distinct  advantages  it  offers  him ;  which 
appeals  to  the  general  public  by  reason  of  what 
it  promises  to  accomplish  in  the  diversification 
and  development  of  an  industry ;  and  which 
appeals  to  the  people  of  New  England  espe- 
cially, because  it  will  be  instrumental  in  increas- 
ing the  employment  of  capital  and  labor  in  this 
community. 

The  benefits  to  the  worsted  manufacture  which 
seem  likely  to  follow  may  be  summarized  as 
follows :  — 

I.  It  will  enable   existing1  worsted    spinning;  Diversification 

.  .       of  product 

mills  to  diversify  their  product  by  buying  dif- 
ferent grades  and  qualities  of  top  which  their 
machinery  may  not  be  fitted  to  produce,  or  may 
be  inadequate  to  produce  in  sufficient  quantities. 
These  worsted  spinners  can,  if  they  choose, 
increase  their  spinning  and  doubling  capacity 
at  a  comparatively  small  outlay  for  machinery 
and  buildings.  Where  their  preparatory  ma- 
chinery may  need  renewal,  they  can  fill  the 
space  it  occupies  with  new  spinning  machinery, 
to  much  greater  advantage  than  by  renewing 
their  old  preparatory  machinery. 
107 


SUMMARY 


More  spinning 
mills. 


Uniformity  of 
stock 


II.  The  top-mill  enterprise  of  the  Arlington 
Mills  offers  an  inducement  for  the  starting  of 
new  spinning-mill  plants. 

a.  Because  such  plants  can  be  started  with  a 
comparatively  small  capital.  There  will  be  no 
necessity  for  the  investment  of  the  relatively 
large  amount  of  capital  hitherto  required  for 
the  preparatory  machinery  equipment. 

b.  Because  there  will  be  no  longer  necessity 
for  employing  the  amount  of  capital  needed  for 
purchasing  and  carrying  stocks  of  wool  in  suffi- 
cient quantities  and  sorts  for  the  needs  of  the 
spinner. 

c.  Because  the  spinner  will  not  require  any 
mercantile  or  manufacturing  skill  outside  of  or 
beyond  himself.  In  other  words,  he  need  no 
longer  be  merchant  as  well  as  manufacturer, 
but  can  concentrate  his  whole  attention  upon 
the  business  of  spinning  yarns. 

III.  A  third  gain  will  be  in  uniformity  of 
stock,  secured  by  the  opportunity  to  purchase 
tops  of  a  uniform  standard  of  quality;  there 
will  also  be  a  gain  in  the  uniformity  of  the 
preparation  of  the  stock,  —  quite  as  essential  as 
uniformity  in  the  stock  itself. 

IV.  It  will  be  easy  to  obtain  at  short  notice 
all  grades  and  qualities  of  tops,  permitting  quick 
changes  of  product. 

108 


V.  Purchases   can   be   confined  to  the  exact  summary 
quantities    necessary    to   fill   particular   orders, 

thus  avoiding  the  necessity  of  carrying  a  large  smaller  stock  of 

.-,»-,...-,  ,  materials 

assortment  of  raw  material  or  dissimilar  char- 
acter ;  the  spinner,  in  fact,  will  be  obliged  to 
carry  no  more  stock  than  is  actually  necessary 
for  operating  his  machinery. 

VI.  Knowing  just  the  quantity  of  top  pur- 
chased and  the  price  paid,  it  will  be  possible  to 
figure  the  costs  of  subsequent  production  much 
more  closely  than  at  present. 

VII.  The  time  elapsing  between  the  purchase 
of  stock  and  the  receipt  of  payment  for  the 
finished  goods  will  be  reduced  by  about  one  half,  Quicker  turning 

.      .  .  of  capital 

thus  permitting  a  larger  business  on  a  smaller 
capital,  independent  of  the  smaller  capital  re- 
quired by  reason  of  the  smaller  plant  neces- 
sary. 

VIII.  The  ordinary  business  risks  of  manu- 
facturing will  be  reduced  to  the  minimum  by 

the    operation    of   each   and    all   of    the   above  Less  business 

risk 

causes. 

IX.  The  combination  of  all  these  results  must 
work  for  the  production  of  better  yarns  and  a 
higher  quality  of  manufactured  goods  at  a  better 
profit  to  the  manufacturer. 

By  the  above  propositions  it  is  obvious  that 
a  worsted   spinner  can   equip  a  spinning  mill, 
109 


summary  without  preparing  or  top-making  machinery,  at 
a  comparatively  small  expense  ; 

That  he  can  make  a  contract  with  the  Arling- 
ton Mills  for  a  periodical  and  regular  supply  of 
tops  for  any  given  time  ; 

That  such  tops  will  be  of  a  quality  to  insure 
the  spinner  the  best  possible  market  prices  for 
his  yarn,  and  at  a  cost  for  top,  all  things  being- 
considered,  as  low  as,  if  not  lower  than  he  would 
be  able  to  produce  the  top  himself ; 

That  the  spinner  can  stock  his  mill  at  a  mini- 
mum employment  of  capital; 

That  he  can  arrange  his  supply  in  such  a  way 
that  he  will  only  require  in  stock  what  is  actu- 
ally needed  for  running  his  machinery ; 

That,  whenever  business  cannot  be  carried  on 
at  a  profit,  he  can  close  his  spinning  mill  and  be 
subject,  while  it  is  idle,  to  minimum  expenses ; 

That  he  can  secure  an  option  on  his  tops  for 
a  time  long  enough  to  enable  him  to  sell  his 
yarn  before  completing  his  purchase  of  tops. 

This  will  reduce  the  risks  of  business -to  a 
minimum.  It  will  reduce  the  business  practi- 
cally to  a  mathematical  certainty,  because  the 
spinner  runs  no  risk  whatever  in  making  his 
purchase.  Given  a  specific  quantity  of  tops, 
he  knows  exactly  how  many  pounds  of  yarn 
can  be  produced  from  them,  and  the  actual  cost 
110 


to  him  of  making-  such  yarn  ;  and  there  will  be  summary 
no  difficulty  whatever  in  making  his  sales,  under 
normal  conditions,  upon  an    actual   and   not  a 
theoretical  basis. 

If  the  deductions  above  are  well  founded,  the 
new  enterprise  must  prove  an  advantage  to  all 
concerned. 


APPENDICES 


A  Spinner  whose  Works  never  shut  down 
APPENDIX   A 

THE    PRODUCTS    OF   THE    ARLINGTON    MILLS 

ITH  the  development  of  the  Arlington  Mills, 
the  variety  of  their  products  has  correspond- 
ingly increased.  It  has  always  heen  their 
aim  to  provide  for  the  people  at  large,  and  this  has 
led  them  gradually  into  broadening  the  scope  of  their 
work.  In  addition  to  the  manufacture  of  a  great 
variety  of  worsted  and  cotton  yarns,  they  have  facili- 
ties for  the  manufacture  of  nearly  every  kind  of 
worsted  fabric  for  women's  and  children's  wear; 
whether  the  weave  be  plain  or  fancy,  the  colors  solid 
or  combined  in  plaids,  figures,  or  stripes  ;  whether 
the  fabric  be  made  of  white  yarns,  for  subsequent 
115 


products  of  piece  dyeing,  or  of  yarns  dyed  in  the  wool  or  top, 
ton  mills       commonly   designated    as    slub    dyed ;    whether   the 
width   be  36  inches   or  54  inches,  or  the  weight  3 
ounces  or  8  ounces  to  the  square  yard. 

The  Arlington  Mills  dress  goods,  both  in  the 
cheaper  varieties  and  in  the  finer  fabrics,  are  recog- 
nized by  the  trade  at  large  as  being  equal  to  the  best 
products  of  the  looms  of  Europe.  The  mills  have  a 
representative  abroad,  who  visits  the  great  centres  of 
fashion,  and  so  keeps  the  home  office  in  touch  with 
the  newest  creations  of  foreign  designers  and  the 
trend  of  ideas  among  those  who  cater  to  fashion. 
This  knowledge  is  supplemented  by  a  corps  of  com- 
petent designers  in  the  mill  and  principal  offices. 

Perhaps  the  most  characteristic  feature  of  this  branch 
of  the  Arlington  Mills  business  is  the  making  of  spe- 
cialties for  the  trade  on  orders,  which  have  hereto- 
fore been  made  solely  in  Europe.  This  business  has 
lately  grown  into  large  proportions.  Importers  and 
others  are  enabled  to  place  orders  for  novelties  in 
cloths,  with  the  understanding  that  the  same  article, 
or  any  article  so  closely  resembling  it  as  to  conflict 
with  its  sale,  will  not  be  made  by  the  Arlington  Mills 
for  other  houses.  In  this  way  the  individuality  of 
each  firm  as  to  taste  or  design  can  be  reserved"  to  its 
own  use  and  advantage. 

The  products  of  the  Arlington  Mills  looms  may 
be  roughly  divided  into  two  great  classes,  the  gen- 
eral subdivisions  under  each  of  which  are  indicated 
below. 

116 


PRODUCTS  OF 
THE  ARLING- 
TON MILLS 


A.  Women's  and  Children's  Dress  Goods 

These  goods  are  sold  to  the  general  dry-goods 
jobbing  trade.  The  greater  part  of  the  product  is 
made  solely  on  orders,  taken  months  in  advance  from 
samples  made  from  original  designs.  This  class  of 
goods  includes,  in  addition  to  a  great  variety  of  plain 
and  staple  goods,  such  as  All  Wool  Serges  and  Che- 
viots, Cotton  Warp  Cashmeres,  plain  Alpaca  and 
Mohair  fabrics,  an  immense  variety  of  fancy  woven 
effects  produced  by  a  union  of  the  Jacquard  and 
box  loom,  combining  cotton  yarns  in  their  natural 
state,  and  also  in  the  silk-finished  state  (which  can 
hardly  be  distinguished  from  silk),  silk  yarns,  and 
worsted  yarns  in  numberless  colorings.  In  fact, 
the  Arlington  Mills  have  the  capacity  for  making 
any  kind  of  women's  and  children's  dress  goods  that 
it  is  possible  to  weave  on  power  looms.  A  not  incon- 
siderable feature  of  the  business  is  the  production 
of  cloths  suitable  for  manufacturers  of  waterproof 
garments. 

B.  Coat  Linings 

These  goods  are  sold  exclusively  on  orders  to 
wholesale  houses,  which  distribute  them  to  clothiers 
and  tailors.  The  business  is  large,  and  rapidly  in- 
creasing under  existing  conditions.  These  coat  linings 
comprise  a  great  variety  of  weaves  and  colorings,  and 
are  produced  by  combining  cotton  warps  with  the 
finest  Australian  wool,  as  well  as  with  what  are 
117 


products  of  known  as  lustre  wools  (which  are  of  English  origin) 

THE  ARLING-  ,  ,      •  i       i  m,  •  •  i 

ton  mills      and  mohair  and  alpaca.      Iney  are  in  universal  use 
for  the  lining  of  men's  wear  garments. 

II 

From  the  manufacture  of  the  finished  product,  we 
now  turn  to  a  branch  of  the  business  which  is  of 
equal  importance,  —  the  manufacture  of  tops,  rovings, 
and  yarns  for  sale,  in  addition  to  what  are  required 
for  their  own  consumption.  These  may  be  divided 
into  four  great  classes. 

A.  Worsted  Tops 

In  the  manufacture  of  these,  nearly  all  the  varie- 
ties of  combing  wools  grown  in  the  world  are  used  : 
Australian  Merino  and  Crossbred  wools ;  South 
American  Merino  and  Crossbred  wools ;  Cape  Me- 
rino wools ;  Merino  and  Crossbred  wools  grown  in 
the  United  States  and  Territories ;  the  lustrous  wools 
of  pure  English  blood ;  Mohair  from  Asiatic  Turkey 
and  Alpaca  from  the  Andes.  Tops  made  of  all 
these  varieties  of  fibres  are  offered  to  worsted  spin- 
ners at  the  most  advantageous  prices  and  terms. 

B.  Worsted  Yarns  •    * 

The  Arlington  Mills  offer  for  sale  yarns  made  on 
both  the  English  and  French  systems  of  spinning, 
from  tops  already  described.  While  there  is  a  great 
variety  of  uses  to  which  these  yarns  are  put,  the  prin- 
cipal sales  are  to  the  weavers  of  men's  wear  goods 
and  to  the  knitters  of  underwear  and  hosiery.  These 
yarns  are  made  in  all  practical  degrees  of  fineness, 
118 


*, 


in  the  gray,  in  solid  colors,  in  fancy  mixtures,  double  products  of 
and  twists,  and  Jasper  effects,  and  are  delivered  to  ton  mills 
the  purchaser  in  any  form  he  may  require  for  sub- 
sequent use. 

The  most  striking  characteristic  of  the  Arlington 
Mills'  yarns  used  for  men's  wear  goods  is  that  they 
are  fast  in  color.  By  this  we  mean  that  the  colors 
do  not  change  during  the  process  of  scouring,  nor  do 
they  change  after  the  goods  are  manufactured,  by 
exposure  to  the  light.  In  this  most  essential  feature 
they  are  considered  superior  to  any  foreign  yarns. 

Included  in  the  worsted  yarns  are  Lustre,  Mohair, 
and  Alpaca  yarns,  in  their  natural  state,  and  also 
colored  or  genapped. 

C.  Cotton  Yarns 

The  Arlington  Mills  also  manufacture,  in  addition 
to  their  own  requirements,  combed  cotton  yarns  for 
sale  to  weavers,  loom  harness  manufacturers,  knitters, 
and  thread  and  lace  curtain  manufacturers.  These 
yarns  are  manufactured  from  the  longest  staple 
Egyptian,  American,  and  Sea  Island  cottons.  They 
are  spun  in  all  numbers  up  to  No.  100,  in  single  and 
two  or  more  ply,  and  are  delivered  in  all  the  varie- 
ties of  forms  required  by  the  purchaser  for  subse- 
quent use. 

The  Sea  Island  yarns  are  sold  largely  to  the  manu- 
facturers of  bicycle  tire  cloth,  which  is  the  base  of 
the  rubber  bicycle  tire.  Until  within  a  very  short 
time,  all  of  the  brass  bobbin  yarn  used  by  lace  manu- 
facturers in  the  United  States  has  been  imported 
from  England,  but  now  the  Arlington  Mills  are  fur- 
119 


products  op  nishing  such  yarns,  equal  in  every  respect  to  the  best 

THE   ARLING-—      „     .  ■, 

ton  mills       ot  those  imported. 

The  most  recent  development  of  the  cotton  yarn 
trade  is  the  process  of  Mercerizing.  By  this  process 
cotton  yarns  are  given  a  brilliant  lustre  almost  equal 
to  that  of  silk,  and  can  be  substituted,  for  silk  in 
many  classes  of  goods.  The  mills  are  now  prepared 
to  furnish  these  yarns  in  quantity. 

D.  Worsted  Merino  Yarns 
The  Merino  yarns  of  commerce  are  made  of  carded 
wool  and  cotton,  mixed  together  in  the  process  of 
carding.  It  is  a  new  departure  to  make  the  same 
character  of  yarns  of  both  combed  wool  and  combed 
cotton,  blended  in  such  proportions  as  the  consumer 
may  require  for  his  trade.  The  Arlington  Mills  are 
engaged  in  this  business  and  offer  such  yarns  for 
sale.  While  the  immediate  demand  is  for  knitted 
underwear,  where  such  a  mixture  has  an  advantage 
over  all-wool  yarns,  in  that  garments  so  made  will 
shrink  less  in  washing,  yet  a  large  demand  is  expected 
for  them  from  all  classes  of  weavers,  who  wish  to 
combine  cheapness,  lightness,  and  mixed  effects  in 
their  fabrics.  By  the  use  of  these  yarns,  contrasting 
colors  can  be  secured  in  a  simple  and  economical 
way. 


APPENDIX   B 

COLUMBUS    SIGHTING   AMERICA 

The  picture  on  the  following  page  is  a  reproduc- 
tion of  a  work  designed  and  woven  at  the  Arlington 
Mills,  as  a  souvenir  of  the  four  hundredth  anniver- 
sary of  the  discovery  of  America  by  Columbus,  and 
a  memorial  of  the  great  World's  Columbian  Exposi- 
tion. It  conveys  a  vivid  impression  of  the  possibili- 
ties of  modern  skill  and  machinery  in  the  way  of 
artistic  weaving. 

The  original  painting,  of  which  this  is  a  copy,  is 
in  the  National  Gallery  at  Berlin,  Germany,  and  has 
a  world-wide  reputation.  It  is  painted  on  canvas, 
and  is  4  feet  by  4  feet  7  inches.  The  artist  was 
Herman  Freihold  Pliiddeman,  a  famous  painter  of 
historical  subjects.  He  was  born  at  Kolberg,  Ger- 
many, July  17,  1809,  and  died  in  Dresden,  June  24, 
1868.  He  was  first  instructed  in  Magdeburg  by 
Lieg,  then  a  pupil  of  Begas,  in  Berlin,  and  from  1831 
to  1837  he  was  a  member  of  Diisseldorf  Academy 
under  Schadow.,  While  there,  in  the  year  1836,  he 
painted  his  famous  picture  of  "  Columbus  Sighting 
America."  He  remained  at  Diisseldorf  until  1848, 
when  he  removed  to  Dresden,  where  he  continued  to 
live  until  his  death  in  1868.  He  painted  chiefly  sub- 
jects from  mediaeval  history,  saga,  and  poetry,  in  the 
spirit  of  the  romanticists.  He  was  also  a  well-known 
121 


columbus  illustrator  of  several  popular  works,  but  he  seems 
America  to  have  made  a  special  study  of  the  great  events 
in  the  life  of  Columbus,  for  among  his  works  are 
the  following  :  Columbus  Sighting  America  (1836)  ; 
Death  of  Columbus  (1840)  ;  Entry  of  Columbus  into 
Barcelona  (1842)  ;  Columbus  at  La  Rabida  (1845)  ; 
Columbus  in  Chains  Landing  at  Cadiz  (1848)  ;  Co- 
lumbus Disputing  with  the  Junta  at  Salamanca 
(1856). 

The  following  facts  are  of  interest  in  connection 
with  the  preparation,  design,  and  weaving  of  the 
picture,  and  will  give  some  idea  of  the  magnitude 
of  the  work  involved. 

A  photograph  of  an  engraving,  made  from  the 
original  painting,  was  first  taken,  and  from  that  pho- 
tograph the  weaving  design  was  made  on  an  enlarged 
scale  upon  cross-section  paper,  each  square  of  which 
is  intended  to  represent  the  position  of  a  thread  in 
the  warp  and  filling  in  the  cloth.  This  design  sheet 
was  6  feet  5  inches  wide  and  8  feet  9  inches  high, 
and  was  a  picture  in  itself,  the  figures  being  larger 
than  life  size. 

The  loom  used  was  an  ordinary  power  loom  with 
the  Jacquard  attachment.  The  Jacquard  machine 
was  the  invention  of  a  native  of  Lyons,  France, 
Joseph  Marie  Jacquard,  whose  name  it  bears.  His 
attention  was  first  directed  to  the  subject  of  me- 
chanical invention  by  seeing  in  a  newspaper  the  offer 
of  a  reward  for  a  machine  for  making  nets.  He  pro- 
duced the  machine,  but  did  not  claim  the  reward. 
The  circumstances  becoming  known  to  some  persons 
in  authority  in  Paris,  Jacquard  was  sent  for,  intro- 
122 


COLVMBVS    SIGHTING   AMERICA 

DESIGNED     AND    WOVEN    AT    THE 

ARLINGTON      MILLS 

LAWRENCE      MASSACHVSETTS   V.S.A. 


ducecl  to  Napoleon,  and  was  employed  in  correcting  columbus 
the  defects  of  a  loom  belonging  to  the  state.  Jac-  America 
quard  stated  that  he  could  produce  the  effects  in- 
tended to  be  produced  on  this  loom  by  far  simpler 
means,  and  as  a  result  he  made,  in  1801,  the  ma- 
chine bearing  his  name.  He  returned  to  Lyons  with 
a  pension  of  one  thousand  crowns,  but  his  invention 
was  regarded  with  so  much  distrust  and  jealousy  by 
the  weavers .  that  they  attempted  to  suppress  it  by 
violent  means. 

The  object  of  the  Jacquard  loom  is  to  facilitate 
the  production  of  elaborate  designs  upon  textile  fab- 
rics. The  Jacquard  "  engine,"  as  it  is  called,  is 
placed  above  the  loom,  and  its  object  is  to  so  separate 
the  threads  of  the  warp  that  the  shuttle,  in  passing 
between  them  with  the  filling,  will  produce  the  de- 
sired design.  Each  warp  thread  is  passed  through 
an  eye  in  a  cord,  hung  in  a  vertical  line  from  the 
Jacquard  engine.  In  the  engine  is  a  revolving 
square  bar,  perforated  with  holes,  and  each  hole  rep- 
resents a  thread  in  the  warp.  By  means  of  a 
mechanical  attachment  of  levers  and  hooks,  these 
vertical  cords,  and  the  warp  threads  attached,  are 
lifted  by  the  action  of  the  ends  of  the  levers  pressing 
against  the  revolving  square  bar.  If  a  hole  is  oppo- 
site a  lever  the  corresponding  warp  thread  is  lifted, 
but  if  the  hole  were  covered,  the  thread  would  not 
be  lifted.  A  long  series  of  pasteboard  cards  are 
strung  together,  each  card  being  the  size  of  one  face 
of  the  revolving  bar,  and  by  means  of  the  mechan- 
ism these  cards  are  passed  in  succession  over  the  bar 
and  in  front  of  the  ends  of  the  levers,  and  wherever 
123 


columbus       a  hole  is  punched  in  a  card,  in  front  of  a  hole  in  the 
America  bar,  the  end  of  the  lever  opposite  that  point  passes 

through  the  hole,  and  in  consequence,  by  the  action 
of  the  levers  and  hooks,  the  warp  thread  is  lifted. 
By  means  of  these  cards  and  the  holes  punched  in 
them  the  motion  of  the  warp  threads  is  regulated, 
and  the  number  of  holes  and  cards  necessary  depends 
on  the  design  to  be  woven. 

The  loom  upon  which  this  picture  was  woven  was 
62  inches  wide,  driven  by  steam  power,  and  operated 
by  one  man.  It  was  fitted  up  with  four  Jacquard 
engines  ;  two  of  these  had  400  hooks  and  cords,  and 
two  of  them  304  each.  The  engines  were  placed 
back  to  back,  the  cards  running  in  front  of,  as  well 
as  back  of,  the  loom,  and  all  four  engines  operated 
at  one  and  the  same  time  upon  the  warp. 

Number  of  cards  used  ....     21,024 
Number  of  holes  in  cards  .         .     4,162,750 

Length  of  cards,  placed  end  to  end       4^  miles 

Area  covered  by  cards  .     <    '  ""      '' 

(.  space  over  70  ft.  sq. 

Weight  of  cards        ....  875  lbs. 

Ends  of  warp  per  inch  ....  117 

Total  ends  of  warp    ....  3,850 

Picks  per  inch,  white  yarn     ...  120 

Picks  per  inch,  colored  yarn      .         .  120 

Total  picks  per  inch      ....  240 

Speed  of  loom,  picks  per  minute       .  100 

Total  picks  in  each  picture    .         .         .  5,250 

The  pictures  are  made  of  the  finest  silk  yarn,  and 
were  woven   two  abreast  in   the  loom,  each  picture 
being  16|  in.  by  22§  in.  in  size,  and  the  time  required 
124 


to  weave  the  two  pictures  was   one   hour  and  one  columbus 

SIGHTING 

quarter.  America 

The  silk  yarn  used  in  each  picture,  if  extended  in 
a  straight  line,  would  measure  10,814  feet,  or  a  little 
over  two  miles. 


APPENDIX   C 

THE   FIRST    CARDING   ENGINE   BUILT   IN   AMERICA 

The  picture  of  a  primitive  carding  engine,  which 
is  published  by  the  courtesy  of  the  Davis  &  Furber 
Machine  Company,  of  Andover,  Mass.,  is  a  repro- 
duction of  what  is  undoubtedly  the  oldest  machine 
of  this  description  now  in  existence  in  the  United 
States,  and  probably  the  very  first  carding  engine 
that  was  ever  used  in  the  wool  manufacture  in  this 
country.  While  there  is  no  doubt  as  to  its  identity, 
some  question  exists  as  to  whether  it  was  built  in  the 
United  States  or  in  England.  The  facts,  so  far  as 
known,  are  given  in  the  following  letter  from  the 
Davis  &  Furber  Machine  Co. 

North  Andover,  Mass.,  Nov.  26,  1897. 
Mr.  William  Whitman,  Treasurer  Arlington 
Mills  :  — 
Dear  Sir,  —  Agreeable  to  your  request,  we  give 
you  copy  of  what  data  we  have  relating  to  the  old 
carding  machine  now  in  our  possession.  This  ma- 
chine was  on  exhibition  at  the  Mechanics'  Fair  in 
Boston  in  1890,  and  to  it  was  attached  a  card  bear- 
ing the  following  inscription  :  — 

"  The  machine  was  built  in  England  in  1792  ;  and, 
as  the  laws  at  that  time  did  not  permit  the  exporta- 
tion of  textile  machinery,  this  machine  was  shipped 
126 


in  two  parts  and  in  different  vessels,  and  probably  the  first 

«     i  ■•     i  i  i  •  tit  i  wi     CARDING   EN- 

called  agricultural  machinery.  John  Lees  and  Wil- gine  built 
liam  Marland,  afterwards  of  Andover,  Mass.,  crossed 
the  ocean  with  one  part  of  it,  and  John  and  Walter 
Scholfield  in  another  vessel  with  the  other  part  of  it. 
It  was  put  together  in  Charlestown,  Mass.,  and  run 
there  for  about  three  years  by  John  Lees  ;  also  in 
By  field  Parish  about  four  years  by  said  Lees,  in  con- 
nection with  William  Bartlett,  a  wealthy  ship-owner 
of  Newburyport ;  it  was  afterwards  run  in  Nashua, 
Jaffrey,  and  Marlboro,  New  Hampshire,  by  a  Mr. 
Fiske,  and  for  the  last  fifty-three  years  by  James 
Townsend,  of  Marlboro,  New  Hampshire,  who  is 
now  ninety-three  years  of  age." 

The  carding  machine  came  into  the  possession  of 
Hon.  Rufus  S.  Frost,  of  Boston,  and  on  his  death 
was  purchased  by  us.  Subsequently,  Mr.  S.  N.  D. 
North,  Secretary  of  the  National  Association  of  Wool 
Manufacturers,  became  interested  in  the  carding 
machine ;  and  in  an  attempt  to  trace  its  origin,  re- 
ceived the  following  letter  from  the  Hon.  Royal  C. 
Taft,  of  Providence,  Rhode  Island :  — 

Providence,  K.  I.,  March  19,  1896. 

S.  N.  D.  North,  Secretary :  — 

Dear  Sir,  —  Your  favor  of  the  17th  inst.  is  received 
and  noticed.  Some  years  since  I  sent  to  Hon.  Rufus  S, 
Frost  a  copy  of  my  book,  "  Some  Notes  on  the  Woolen 
Manufacture  of  the  United  States,"  from  which  resulted 
some  correspondence  relative  to  the  first  carding  machine 
built  in  this  country.  Mr.  Frost  supposed  that  his  card- 
ing machine  was  the  one  referred  to  in  my  narrative,  and 
that  it  was  imported  from  England.  His  authority,  as 
127 


THE  first       he  admitted,  was  only  a  statement  which  he  supposed  to 

CARDING  EN-  b    eorrect 

GINE   BUILT       ue  ^oxlecl" 

IN  AMERICA        Mr.  Frost  was  quite  positive  that  he  owned  the  Schol- 

field  machine,  and   the  only   doubt   he  had   was   as  to 

whether  it  was  made  in  England  or  at  Newburyport,  but 

he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  made  at  the  latter 

place. 

I  myself  have  no  doubt  that  he  has  the  Scholfield  ma- 
chine, as  John  Scholfield  left  the  company  at  Newbury- 
port in  operation  with  a  new  manager,  and  started  a 
small  mill  in  Stonington,  Ct.,  where  it  is  presumed  he 
built  new  machinery,  the  building  and  starting  of  carding 
machines  having  been  done  by  both  Arthur  and  John 
Scholfield  in  several  places. 

The  evidence  upon  which  I  based  my  statement  was 
given  me  by  James  Scholfield  in  1872,  when  he  was 
eighty-eight  years  old,  and  verified  in  1882,  when  I  re- 
wrote the  book.  James  Scholfield  was  nine  years  old 
when  the  Scholfields  moved  to  Newburyport,  and  eleven 
years  old  when  the  Byfield  factory  was  started.  Mr. 
Scholfield  was  perfectly  clear  in  his  recollection,  and 
positive  that  the  machine  was  built  under  his  father's 
direction  at  Newburyport.  Mr.  Frost  was  positive  that 
it  was  the  first  machine,  but  in  face  of  the  direct  evidence 
I  had  from  Mr.  Scholfield,  doubted  if  he  was  correct  in 
claiming  the  machine  to  have  been  made  in  England. 
Our  correspondence  was  only  a  short  time  before  the 
decease  of  Mr.  Frost.  What  led  me  and  the  Scholfields 
to  our  conclusion  was  a  written  statement  made  by  a 
grandson  of  John  Scholfield,  who  was  desirous  his  grand- 
father should  receive  the  credit  which  was  his  due  ;  and 
accordingly  prepared  and  left  behind  him  the  substance 
of  what  I  certified  through  James  Scholfield.  It  was  a 
common  subject  of  talk  among  the  Scholfield  family, 
several  of  whom  have  written  me  thanking  me  for  the 
128 


investigation  which  I  made,  and  for  giving  credit  to  their  the  first 
grandfather  for  what  they  had  all  known  from  him  and  GiWE  BUILT 
his  children.  w  America 

Royal  C.  Taft. 

From  which  you  will  see  there  is  some  doubt  as 
to  the  real  history  of  this  machine. 
Very  respectfully  yours, 

Davis  &  Furber  Machine  Co. 

The  advance  of  one  hundred  years  in  carding  ma- 
chinery may  be  judged  by  a  study  of  the  picture  of 
the  Scbolfield  carding  engine  in  comparison  with  that 
of  the  modern  card  which  is  given  herewith. 


APPENDIX  D 

FACTS     ABOUT     THE     PROPERTY     OF    THE     ARLINGTON 
MILLS 

The   land  comprises  74.9  acres,  divided  as  fol- 
lows :  — 

Land  in  mill  yards         ....     34.7  acres. 
Land  in  Methuen      ....         18.8      " 
Land  under  pond  and  river  .  .  .     21.4     " 

The  floor  space  of  the  buildings  is  as  follows :  — 

Worsted  Department 

Area  of  Floor  Space. 


Storehouse      .          . 

.        73.140  sq.  ft. 

Solvent  Plant 

11.961     " 

Top  Mill         .... 

.     370.458     " 

Spinning  Mills    . 

304.838     " 

Dyeing  and  Finishing  Mills     . 

.       96.391  .  " 

Weaving  and  Dressing  Rooms 

150.207     " 

Repair  Shop  .         .         .          .     ' 

.       25.521     « 

1,032.516  sq.  ft. 

130 


Cotton  Department 


Storehouse 
Spinning  Mill 
Twisting  Mill 


Worsted  Department,  floor  space 
Cotton  Department,  floor  space 

Total  floor  space 

Total  Horse  Power  . 


Area  of  Floor  Space. 

23.844  sq.  ft. 
174.225     " 
63.126     " 

261.195  sq.  ft. 

.     23.7  acres. 
6.0     " 


29.7  acres. 
8,000  H.  P. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Advantages  of  the  new  enterprise, 
106. 

Allowances  for  regain,  60,  62,  70. 

Alpaca  fabrics,  117. 

Analysis  of  hygroscopic  observa- 
tions (note),  75. 

Ancestors,  clothing  of  our,  100. 

Antwerp  top  market,  the,  18,  20, 83. 

Argentina,  wools  of,  18. 

Arkwright,  Richard,  90. 

Arlington  Mills,  the,  10.  11,  23,  28, 
64,  78,  83,  95,  110,  115. 

Artistic  weaving,  121. 

Australasia,  wool  clip  of,  17. 

Automatic  stokers,  36. 

Bartlett,  William,  127. 

Begas,  the  artist,  121. 

Belgians,  the,  18. 

Belgium,  worsted  manufacture  in, 

11.- 

Benefits    to    worsted  manufacture, 

106. 
Berlin  National  Gallery,  121. 
Bicycles,  15. 

Bi-sulphide  of  carbon,  45,  47. 
Blankets,  9. 

Blending  of  stock,  82,  83. 
Boiler-house,  the,  36. 
Boilers,  36. 

Bowman,  Dr.  F.  H.,  quoted,  43,  52. 
Bradford,  England,  6,  18,  63,  83. 
Bradford   Chamber   of    Commerce, 

memorial  of,  5. 
Bradford    conditioning    house,,  58, 

63,  65,  78,  80. 
Bradford  "  Observer"  quoted,  18. 
British  Board  of  Trade,   statistics 

of,  8. 
Burnley,  James,  quoted,  88. 
Burry  wools,  19. 
Buxton  &  Ronald,  quoted,  20. 
Byfield  parish,  127. 
By-products  of  wool,  53. 

Capital,  investment  of,  in  top-mak- 
ing machinery,  25,  108. 


Capital,  smaller,  required,  84,  108, 
110. 

Carbonate  of  soda,  41. 

Carding  engine,  the  first  built  in 
America,  126. 

Carding  machine,  the  modern,  129. 

Census  statistics  of  worsted  mills,  7. 

Certificate  of  condition,  79. 

Chalmers  street,  32. 

Charlestown,  Mass.,  127. 

Cheap  clothing,  99. 

Chevreul's  analysis  of  wool,  44. 

Civil  war,  the,  6. 

Clothing,  modern,  99. 

Coat  linings,  117. 

"  Columbus  Sighting  America," 
121. 

Comb,  the  modern,  88. 

Combing  machine,  increased  pro- 
duct of,  96. 

Combing  machine,  results  of  its  in- 
vention, 17. 

Combing-room,  the,  33. 

Combing-room,  description  of  a,  88. 

Complete  organism,  a,  37. 

Condition,  certificate  of,  79. 

Conditioning,  methods  of,  60,  78. 

Continental  methods  of  selling  tops, 
59. 

Cost  of  conditioning,  at  Roubaix, 
60. 

Cotton  yarns,  115. 

Cotton  yarns,  allowance  for  regain, 
60. 

Curve  of  change  in  humidity,  67. 

Davis  &  Furber  Machine  Co.,  letter 
from,  126. 

Degras,  French,  47. 

Degras,  imports  of,  55. 

Description  of  new  solvent  plant,  50. 

Diagram  No.  1, 67  ;  diagram  No.  2, 
68  ;  diagram  No.  3,  68  ;  diagram 
No.  4,  69. 

Doffing,  weight  of,  97. 

Dress  goods,  women's  and  chil- 
dren's, 117. 


135 


INDEX  Drosophores,  35. 

Duty  on  tops  and  rovings,  26. 

Early  woolen  mills,  the,  14. 

Electric  motor  system,  38. 

Eliot,  President,  quoted,  99. 

Engine,  the,  36. 

England,  allowance  for  regain  in,  62. 

England,  worsted  manufacture  in, 
15,  29. 

English  worsted  manufacture,  sta- 
tistics of,  11. 

Error,  a  popular,  98. 

Evolution  of  American  wool  manu- 
facture, 14. 

Explosion,  no  danger  of,  49,  50. 

Factory  system  of  wool  manufac- 
ture, 3. 

Fall  River,  72. 

Fire  escapes,  35. 

Flannel  dress  goods,  9. 

Foreign  goods,  preference  for,  104. 

France,  wool  scouring  in,  56. 

French  worsted  manufacturers,  the, 
11,  21. 

Frost,  Hon.  Rufus  S.,  127. 

"Futures,"  dealings  in  top,  19. 

Gains  from  solvent  process  of  scour- 
ing, 53. 

Gains  from  establishment  of  top 
manufacture,  107. 

Genesis  of  the  American  worsted 
manufacture,  the,  1. 

Germany,  worsted  spinning  in,  72. 

Grandmother's  wedding  dress,  the, 
102. 

Grease  of  wool,  qualities  of,  55. 

Guarantee,  a,  85. 

Hamilton  "Woolen  Mills,  4. 
Hand  combing  described,  87. 
Hand  combers,  the  English,  88. 
Handling  the  material,  37. 
Hartshorne,  William  D.,  66. 
Harvard  graduates  of  1770,  105. 
Heating,  35. 
Heilman  comb,  the,  17. 
Holden  comb,  the,  17. 
Holden,  Sir  Isaac,  17,  45,  89,  91. 
Holden  &  Sons,  17. 
Home  market  for  tops,  a,  22. 
"  Homespun,"  14. 
Humidity  and  weight  curve,  69. 
Humidity,  conditions  of,  64. 
Humidity,  observations  of,  69. 
Hydraulic  elevators,  35. 
Hygroscopic  property  of  wool,  the, 
57. 


Imports  of  tops  and  rovings,  26. 


Initial  step  in  wool  manufacture, 

the,  41. 
Inspection  of  tops,  84. 

Jacquard  effects,  10. 
Jacquard  fabrics,  117. 
Jacquard,  Joseph  Marie,  122. 
Jacquard  loom,  the,  described,  123. 

Lancashire,  humidity  of,  72. 
Language  of  the  wool  manufacture, 

xi. 
Lees,  John,  127. 
Lister  comb,  the,  17. 
Lister,  Samuel  Cunliff,  90. 
London  wool  auctions,  17. 
Looms,  modern,  97. 
Lottery,  Antwerp  top  market,  a,  20. 
Lustre  wools,  the  cleansing  of,  53. 

McLaren,  definition  of  top,  ix. 
McMaster,  John  B.,  quoted,  102. 
Machinery  capacity  of  the  top  mill, 

39. 
Machinery,   perfection  of  modern, 

96. 
Machinery,  worsted,  10. 
Maertens,  Emile,  49. 
Manchester  Mills,  7. 
M.irland,  William,  127. 
Marlboro,  N.  H.,  127. 
Masham,  Lord,  90. 
Mechanical  advance  of  the  ivorsted 

manufacture,  the,  87. 
Mercerizing,  117. 
Mitchell,  Sir  Henry,  quoted,  71. 
Mohair  fabrics,  117. 
Mohair,  52. 
Moisture,  absorption  of,  by  wool  and 

tops,  5S. 
Moisture,  average  in  the  air,  70. 
Morrell's  Textile  Directory,  16. 
Mousseline  delaines,  5. 

Naphtha,  as  a  scouring  agent,  45, 

47. 
Napoleon,  123. 
Nashua,  N.  H.,  127. 
New  Bedford,  Mass.,  72. 
Newburyport,  Mass.,  127. 
New  spinning-mill  plants,  108. 
Noble  comb,  the,  17. 
Noilage,  reduced,  53. 
Noils,  definition  of,  x. 
Norwich,  England,  xi. 

Old-fashioned  way  of  scouring  wool, 
42. 

Pacific  mills,  the,  7. 
"Pad"  comb,  the,  87. 
Percentage  for  regain,  true,  66. 


136 


Petroleum  ether  as  a  scouring  agent, 

45. 
PliiJdeman,  Herman  Freihold,  121. 
Pollution  of  streams,  55. 
Pompton,  New  Jersey,  4G,  49. 
Poorly  scoured  wool,  41. 
Popul  ition  of  the  United  States,  2. 
Potash,  th2,  of  wool,  52. 
Problam  of  modern  manufacturing, 

the,  94. 
Products  of  the  Arlington  Mills,  115. 

Quality  of  stock,  84. 
Quautity  and  quality,  95. 

Regain,  true  percentage  of,  66. 
Rheims,  ton  mill  at,  117. 
Richards,  Mrs.  Ellen  H.,  46  ;  quoted, 

48. 
Risk,  minimum,  of  business,  110. 
River  Plate  tops,  20. 
Roubaix,  conditioning  house  at,  60. 
Roubaix  top  market,  the,  IS. 
Roubiix,  top  mill  at,  17. 
Royal     Commission    ou    Technical 

Education  quoted,  26,  60,  63. 

Scholfield,  J-imes,  127. 

Scholfield,  J  ilin,  127. 

Scholfield,  Walter,  127, 

Scouring  agents,  42. 

Scouring  m  ichines,  41. 

Silk,  allowance  for  regain,  60. 

Silk  fibre,  hygroscopic  property  of, 

58. 
Soaps  for  scouring  wool,  42. 
Solvent  plant,  location  of,  54. 
Solvent  process  for  cleansing  wool, 

the,  40. 
Sorting-room,  the,  33. 
Sorts,  wide  choice  in  selection  of, 

84. 
South  America,  wool  clip  of,  17. 
Specialization,  tendency  to,  15. 
Speed  of  spindles,  97. 
Spindles  in  English  worsted  mills, 

8. 
Spindles,  speed  of,  97. 
Spinning  mills,  less  capital  required 

for,  29,  84. 
Stairway.*,  35. 

Standards  of  condition,  60,  78,  79. 
Statistics  of  American  worsted  mills, 

7. 
Statistics  of  Bradford  conditioning 

house,  81. 
Statistics  of   Roubaix  conditioning 

house,  61. 
Statistics  of  English  worsted  manu- 
facture, 11. 
Stock,  uniformity  of,  108. 
Storage  basement,  the,  38. 


Storage  capacity,  34.  INDEX 

Storage-room,  the,  33. 

Streams,  pollution  of,  55. 

Suint,  wool,  54. 

Summary,  106. 

Supervision,  84. 

Taft,  Hon.  Royal  C,  letter  from, 
127. 

Tariff  of  18G7,  the,  6. 
Tariff,  the,  on  tops,  27. 
Tariffs,  early,  the,  and  worsteds,  5. 
Temperature,  regulation  of  the,  34. 
Terminal  top  markets,  the,  21. 
Testing  the  solvent  process,  50. 
Top  bins  for  storage,  38. 
Top,  length  and  weight  of,  jr. 
Top  markets,  the  foreign,  21. 
Tops,  allowance  for  regain  in,  60, 

78. 
Tops,  how  they  will  be  sold,  77. 
Tops,  imports  of,  26. 
Tops,  tariff  on,  27. 
Tops,  what  they  are,  ix. 
Tops,  why  bought  not  made,  18. 
Townend,  Walter,  81 ;  letter  from, 

65. 
Townsend,  James,  127. 

Underwear,  knitted,  9 ;  yarns  for, 
117. 

Uneven  conditions  in  wool  scouring, 
43. 

Uniformity  of  .stock,  108. 

United  States,  early  woolen  manu- 
facture in,  17. 

Dnited  States,  genesis  of  worsted 
manufacture  in,  1. 

United  States,  worsted  yarn  spin- 
ning in,  72. 

Urine,  41. 

Variation  in  weight  of  yarn,  67. 

Ventilation,  34. 

Vickerman,  Charles,  quoted,  x. 

Water,  buying,  59. 

Weighing  test  for  hygroscopicity, 
66. 

Weight,  curve  and  humidity,  69. 

Women's  and  children's  dress  goods, 
117. 

Wool,  absorption  of  moisture  by,  58. 

Wool,  characteristics  of,  42. 

Wool,  Chevreul's  analysis  of,  44. 

Wool  clip,  increase  of  (footnote),  17. 

Wool  combers,  the  early,  b'8. 

Wool,  hygroscopic  property  of,  57. 

Wool  oil,  uses  of,  53. 

Wool,  processes  of  cleansing  defec- 
tive, 40. 

Woolen  manufacture,  the,  9 ;   sta- 


13^ 


INDEX  tistics   of,   8 ;    specialisation    of, 

93. 

World's  Columbian  Exposition,  121. 

Worsted  machinery,  American,  10. 

Worsted  manufacture,  specializa- 
tion of,  the,  13. 

Worsted  manufacture,  statistics  of 
the  English,  8. 

Worsted  mills,  American,  statistics 
of,  17. 

Worsted  yarn,  difficulty  of  making 
perfect,  85. 

Worsted  yarn  spinning  in  the  United 
States,  71. 

Yarn  spinning  in  England  and  the 
United  States,  72. 


Yarns,  allowance  for  regain  in,  60. 

Yarns,  alpaca,  119. 

Yarns,  cotton,  119. 

Yarns,  for  bicycle  tire  cloth,  119. 

Yarns  for  sale,  119. 

Yarns  for  sale,  manufacture  of  be- 
gun, 23. 

Yarns,  genapped,  119. 

Yarns,  lustre,  119,  120. 

Yarns,  mercerized,  120. 

Yarns,  merino,  120. 

Yarns,  mohair,  119. 

Yarns,  wools  used  in  making 
worsted,  118. 

Yarns,  worsted,  118. 

Yorkshire,  humidity  of,  72. 

Yorkshire,  top  mills  of,  16. 


BOSTON  COLLEGE 


3  9031   0 


627381   5 


DATE  DUE 

GAYLORD 

PRINTED  IN  U.S.A. 

